A PYMNTS Company

India Dismisses Antitrust Claims Against Uber

By  |  July 15, 2021

The Competition Commission of India (CCI) has rejected the allegations of antitrust violations made against Uber by cab aggregator Meru. According to the recent order issued by the competition regulator, Meru had alleged that Uber was offering low priced rides to customers along with high incentives to its drivers and the move was aimed at eliminating competition.

    Get the Full Story

    Complete the form to unlock this article and enjoy unlimited free access to all PYMNTS content — no additional logins required.

    yesSubscribe to our daily newsletter, PYMNTS Today.

    By completing this form, you agree to receive marketing communications from PYMNTS and to the sharing of your information with our sponsor, if applicable, in accordance with our Privacy Policy and Terms and Conditions.

    Apart from this, Meru alleged that Uber also entered into an exclusive agreement with its drivers that prevented them from working with any other taxi operators. “The Informant (Meru) alleged that owing to its dominant position, Uber Group adopted certain abusive practices,” read the order by CCI.

    We’d love to be your preferred source for news.

    Please add us to your preferred sources list so our news, data and interviews show up in your feed. Thanks!

    Add as Preferred Source

    However, considering Uber’s statements during investigations, CCI decided to reject the allegations made by Meru.

    The Commission said it has deliberated at length on the relevance of network effects along with the role of incentives and discount within the market. As Meru alleged that Uber and Ola operate at below-cost pricing strategy and their pricing strategies are not on the basis of efficiencies, Uber has justified that the discounts and incentives offered by the company are a part of the overall network expansion strategy. “Given that a cab aggregator competes in the relevant market on the network, and its operational efficiency is directly proportional to the network strength it has, it may be counterproductive for an antitrust regulator to intervene in such an instance,” CCI said.

    Want more news? Subscribe to CPI’s free daily newsletter for more headlines and updates on antitrust developments around the world.