Abuse of Dominant Position

Under Section 4 of the Competition Act, 2002, an enterprise or group abuses its dominant position when it uses market strength in specified anti-competitive ways. A dominant position is a position of strength in the relevant market in India that enables it to operate independently of competitive forces or affect competitors, consumers, or the market in its favour. Dominance itself is not prohibited; its abuse is.

Determining dominance

The Competition Commission of India first identifies the relevant product market and relevant geographic market, and then assesses dominance under Section 19(4).

• Relevant factors include market share, size and resources, economic power, vertical integration, consumer dependence, entry barriers, market structure, and the size and importance of competitors.
• A large market share is relevant but is not, by itself, the complete legal test of dominance.

Conduct constituting abuse

Section 4 treats the following conduct by a dominant enterprise or group as abuse:

• Imposing an unfair or discriminatory condition or price, directly or indirectly, in the purchase or sale of goods or services.
• Charging a predatory price, meaning a price below cost, as determined under regulations, with the object of reducing competition or eliminating competitors.
• Limiting or restricting production, services, markets, or technical or scientific development to the prejudice of consumers.
• Engaging in practices that result in denial of market access in any manner.
• Making contracts conditional upon unrelated supplementary obligations, commonly called tying.
• Using dominance in one relevant market to enter into, or protect, another relevant market, commonly called leveraging.

Application to digital and AI markets

The test is technology-neutral. Conduct involving platforms or AI agents becomes actionable only when the enterprise is dominant in a properly defined relevant market and its conduct fits a statutory category such as exclusionary access restrictions, unfair conditions, tying, predatory pricing, or leveraging.