Case No. 41/2013. Case: Om Prakash Vs Central Bureau of Narcotics Ministry of Finance and Narcotics Control Bureau Ministry of Home Affairs. Competition Commision of India
| Case Number | Case No. 41/2013 |
| Counsel | For Appellant: Ms. Meenakshi Arora, Ms. Anupam Sanghi, Mr. Nikhil Rohatgi, Advocates and Mr. Rajiv Arya, Chartered Accountant for the Informant |
| Judges | Ashok Chawla (Chairman), H.C. Gupta, Member (G), Geeta Gouri, Member (GG), Anurag Goel, Member (AG), M.L. Tayal, Member (T) and Shiv Narayan Dhingra, Member (D) |
| Issue | Competition Act, 2002 - Sections 19(1)(a), 2(h), 26(1), 26(2), 4; Narcotics Drugs And Psychotropic Substances Act 1985 - Sections 10, 4, 5, 9 |
| Judgement Date | September 16, 2013 |
| Court | Competition Commision of India |
Order:
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The Informant in the present case is a farmer engaged in cultivation of poppy seeds and has filed the present information under section 19(1)(a) of the Competition Act, 2002 (the 'Act') aggrieved by the practices adopted by the Central Bureau of Narcotics ('Opposite Party 1/OP1') and Narcotics Control Bureau ('Opposite Party 2/OP2') in implementing the EXIM Policy 2009-14, EXIM Code No. 12079100, for registration of import contracts of opium, which Informant alleged were anti-competitive. The informant alleged that OP1, solely regulated the import and export of poppy seeds in India and enjoyed statutory monopoly. OP1 was flouting the policy norms and objectives by permitting import of huge quantities of illegally and illicitly produced poppy seeds, into the market, thus harming the domestic cultivators. The Informant alleged that the OP1 was flouting the safeguard mechanisms of NDPS policy by not following mandatory registration of import contracts with OP1 and by not verifying if the poppy seeds were cultivated legally in the country of origin. Thus, OP1 violated the objectives of NDPS Policy by imposing compulsory registration conditions, contradictory to the NDPS policy. The informant challenged the following extract of Notification No. FNO. XVI/4B/144/Narco/Poppy Seed/2013, dated 29.04.2013, issued by OP1.
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Immediately after the dispatch of every consignment from the exporting country, the importer will submit a copy of appropriate certificate issued by the Competent Authority of exporting country that opium poppy have been grown licitly/legally in that country, a copy of Country of Origin Certificate issued by the Competent Authority and a copy of Bill of Lading to the Central Bureau of Narcotics, Gwalior.
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The Informant alleged that OP1, which enjoyed statutory monopoly, was flouting the policy objectives and prescribed norms by permitting huge quantities of imports under Special Import Licence which affected domestic producers. The Informant further alleged that illegally produced opium was being imported from countries like Turkey into India and OP1 was abusing its regulatory power/dominant position by ignoring the safeguards and not following requirements of mandatory registration of contract between importer and OP1.
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The Informant and other farmers had filed a writ petition before High Court of Delhi, CWP 2267/2013, which was disposed by the High Court with directions to the Respondents to consider the grievance of Petitioners...
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