NEWS
HEAVY FINES FOR HEINEKEN AND CARLSBERG FOR FIXING BEER PRICES IN INDIA
By Siulan Law Mathews DipWSET
29-9-2021
Credit: Stella de Smit/Unsplash
The Competition Commission of India (CCI) imposed a penalty of USD102 million on Heineken-controlled beer giant United Breweries and USD16 million on the local unit of Denmark's Carlsberg for fixing beer prices in the country.
The CCI started investigating the two brewers in 2018 after rival Anheuser Busch InBev (AB InBev) told the watchdog it had detected an industry cartel in India after it acquired operations of SABMiller Plc.
The investigation found that the two companies collectively strategised to seek price increases in several states, forging a cartel.
In an order issued last Friday, the CCI imposed penalties of 7.5 billion rupees on United Breweries and 1.2 billion rupees on Carlsberg.
AB InBev was exempt from penalties as it alerted the CCI about the cartel.
The order also imposed a penalty of USD23,684 on Carlsberg India Managing Director Nilesh Patel and USD6,497 on United Breweries chief of sales Kiran Kumar, among others.
Heineken told Reuters news agency that United Breweries only recently become part of Heineken, the cartel activities in question happened before the change of ownership.
They said they are reviewing CCI’s decision and will consider the next steps, including the possibility of lodging an appeal.
A Carlsberg spokesperson also said the company was reviewing the order, while a spokesperson for AB InBev India said the company was "pleased with the outcome of this order."
Reuters news agency said Indian companies typically appeal to CCI orders, casting doubts on the India beer market.
United Breweries, Carlsberg and AB InBev account for about 88 percent of India’s beer market worth about USD7 billion.
(the writer can be contacted at: info@thewinechronicle.com)
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