The Competition Appellate Tribunal, on Monday, upheld a Rs. 630 crore penalty imposed on realty major DLF by the Competition Commission of India and emphasised that abuse of dominant position should be dealt with firmly.
DLF said it would move the Supreme Court on the matter.
In August 2011, the Competition Commission of India (CCI) found DLF violating fair trade norms and imposed the fine on a complaint by Belaire Owners’ Association.
The association alleged DLF imposed highly arbitrary, unfair and unreasonable conditions on allottees of apartments in The Belaire in Gurgaon, which had serious adverse effects and ramifications on the rights of the buyers.
“The order of CCI as well as this judgement is expected to go a long way to ameliorate all the conditions of the customers...If the consumer is exploited by a mighty builder, then such mighty builder cannot claim soft attitude from the State. We, therefore, refuse to bring down the penalty in any manner,” Compat said in a 139-page order .
The tribunal was of the opinion that DLF abused its dominant position. It said that as a dominant player, DLF has a special duty to be within the four corners of the law.
The Rs. 630 crore fine is equivalent to 7 per cent of DLF’s turnover, the CCI had said.
“The company shall be challenging the said order passed by the Compat in the Supreme Court for which Compat has given us 60 days time,” said DLF in a statement.
