ABC Bearing Limited along with other four companies, who are the key Competitors in the market decided among themselves to revise the prices to be quoted to Original Equipment Manufacturers (OEMs). Discuss whether this a

According to Section 2(c) of the Competition Act, 2002, "Cartel" includes an association of producers, sellers, distributors, traders or service providers who, by agreement amongst themselves, limit, control or attempt to control the production, distribution, sale or price of, or, trade in goods or provision of services. The nature of a cartel is to raise price above competitive levels, resulting in injury to consumers and to the economy. For the consumers, cartelisation results in higher prices, poor quality and less or no choice for goods or/and services. An international cartel is said to exist, when not all of the enterprises in a cartel are based in the same country or when the cartel affects markets of more than one country. In the Competition Act, cartels meant exclusively for exports have been excluded from the provisions relating to anti-competitive agreements. This is because such cartels do not adversely affect markets in India and are hence outside the purview of the Competition Act. If there is effective competition in the market, cartels would find it difficult to be formed and sustained. Competition Commission of India in the matter of ABC Bearing Ltd. , dated June 05. 2020 held that where key Competitors in bearings market discussed amongst themselves to decide on revision of prices to be quoted to Original Equipment Manufacturers (OEMs), thereby their independence is compromised, facilitating them to quote price revisions to OEMs different than what they would have quoted independently, will amount to Cartel as defined under Section 2(c) of the Competition Act, 2002. Competition Commission of India in the case of All India Tyre Dealers Federation Vs. Tyre Manufacturers observed that no explicit agreement is required in order to prove cartelisation, it may be proved even through the intention or conduct of parties. So, in the light of the above case, this Act of ABC Bearing Limited amounts to Cartelisation.