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Informist, Monday, Oct. 13, 2025

 

--SC rejects Asian Paints plea against CCI probe over Grasim Ind's complaint

 

NEW DELHI – The Supreme Court Monday rejected Asian Paints Ltd.'s plea against a Competition Commission of India's order to investigate alleged anti-competitive practices by the company in the decorative paints market. The antitrust regulator's order was based on a complaint submitted by Grasim Industries Ltd. against Asian Paints. 

 

In its July order, the competition regulator had said that a prima facie a case of breach of the Competition Act, 2002 was made against Asian Paints on the basis of information and material provided by Grasim Industries. The commission said that Asian Paints appeared to have restrained its dealers from dealing with competitors by enforcing exclusivity upon them. This imposed unfair conditions and appeared to be exploitative conduct, according to the commission.

 

The commission also said that on a first view, Asian Paints seemed to be creating barriers to new entrants in the decorative paints market by restraining suppliers of essential raw materials from providing goods and services to Grasim Industries. The commission said it had not heard Asian Paints before passing the order as it found no reason to do so at that stage.

 

Grasim Industries had alleged that Asian Paints had abused its dominant position in the relevant market for manufacture and sale of decorative paints in the organised sector in India. Asian Paints had offered additional or extra discounts, condonations, incentives like foreign travel to its dealers in exchange for exclusivity, which is arbitrary in nature and not linked to any uniform policy or based on performance or sales of the dealer, said Grasim Industries. Exclusivity is a contractual obligation that restricts a party from engaging in certain activities with third parties for a specified time. According to Grasim Industries, Asian Paints had exercised and enforced "de facto exclusivity" upon dealers by threatening them against stocking the complaint's paints. Further, Asian Paints had restrained the third parties, including suppliers of essential raw materials, from providing goods and services to the complainant, said Grasim Industries.

 

In September, the Bombay High Court had rejected Asian Paints' plea against the antitrust regulator order. The high court said that it did not find any infirmity with the competition regulator's order for a probe against Asian Paints. Challenging this, Asian Paints had moved the Supreme Court.

 

At 1402 IST, shares of Asian Paints were up 0.3% at INR 2,347.60 on the National Stock Exchange and those of Grasim Industries were down 0.6% at INR 2,792.90.  

 

IST, or Indian Standard Time, is five-and-a-half hours ahead of GMT

 

Reported by Surya Tripathi

Edited by Akul Nishant Akhoury

 

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