Course: Competition and Consumer Law

1) Case facts: Mr. Rakesh wanted to courier some important documents and employed the

services of Airpak Couriers for the same. Due to an issue in transit, the documents were lost

and did not reach their supposed destination. These were valuable documents for Mr. Rakesh,

and he is now asking for a compensation of Rs. 1 lakh. While Airpak Couriers claim that they

are liable to pay only Rs. 100 as damages.

Complainant: Mr. Rakesh

Defendant: M/s. Airpak Couriers Pvt. Ltd.

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Consumer Protection Act:

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Mr. Rakesh has the right to ask compensation on the basis of the Consumer Protection Act of

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2019, under deficiency of services. It is to be understood that Airpak Couriers would perform
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their services of delivering the consignment to its destination without any loss to the

consumer. However, due to a fault in Airpak Couriers’ service the documents were lost,
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causing loss for the consumer, Mr. Rakesh.

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As, Mr. Rakesh had to bear the loss due to faulty service of Airpak Couriers, he is entitled to

file a complaint within Deficiency of Service under the Consumer Protection Act, 2019.
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Eligible for Compensation?

Prima facie the complainant, Mr. Rakesh seems to be eligible for the compensation of Rs. 1
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lakh, as the services of Airpak Couriers were inadequate and caused him a loss of important
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documents. However, it should be checked if there were any agreements between the

complainant and the service provider before starting the service. This means that, if Airpak

Couriers had terms and conditions which mentioned that they would only be liable to pay Rs.

100 as damages in case of a loss, and Mr. Rakesh had agreed to and signed on this condition

before sending the consignment, then Airpak Couriers would not have to pay the amount

asked by the complainant. This is usually the case; any courier service mentions their terms

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 and conditions before sending the consignment and consumers are expected to read them and

sign them before availing the service. Furthermore, if the documents were very important

then Mr. Rakesh should have made photocopies or duplicates of the same.

Thus, Mr. Rakesh would be eligible for compensation of Rs. 1 lakh if Airpak Couriers did not

have any terms and conditions covering loss in transit, or else he would be eligible to receive

only Rs. 100 as damages.

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 2) Dominant Position:

A position of strength that enables any company within a relevant market in India to affect

the competitors, consumers or the market in their favor or operate without the influence of

competitive forces in the market is termed as a dominant position.

Dominant position of an enterprise is decided on the terms of its economic power, market

share, size and position of its competition, resources and the size of the enterprise.

Furthermore, entry and exit barriers in the market, consumer dependence on the enterprise,

market structure and size, and the source of its position are also taken into consideration

while deciding the dominant position of an enterprise.

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Abuse of Dominant Position:

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Having a dominant position in the market is not bad in itself, it is when the enterprise abuses

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its dominance in an exploitative or exclusionary manner that it becomes a problem.
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As per the Competition Act, given below are the practices that can be construed as the abuse
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of Dominant Position:
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 Imposing any unfair or discriminatory conditions, directly or indirectly, for the

purchase or sale of goods or services

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 Restriction or limiting goods production or service provision

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 The restriction or limitation put on scientific or technical development of goods and

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services
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 Directly or indirectly, imposing discriminatory prices or prices which are unfair in

purchasing or selling goods or services

 Denying entry to the market in any way to newer entrants

 Using dominance of one market to protect other markets or enter into other markets

Grounds for Filing a Complaint:

The grounds for filing a complaint are as follows:

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  Excessive pricing

 Predatory pricing

 Entry barriers

 Restricting supply in the market

 Discriminatory pricing

Assessing Abuse of Dominant Position:

Market share: Market share is one of the important factors to assess dominance. However,

this can only be indicative and other factors should be looked upon

Size of the enterprise and resource power: Bigger enterprises with more resources can exert

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dominance over smaller competitors.

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Competition: Lower the competition, more likely is the power of dominance of any

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enterprise.
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