New Delhi, February 12 The Competition Commission has imposed a fine of ₹27.38 crore on Intel Corp for engaging in anti-competitive practices regarding its India-specific warranty policy for boxed microprocessors.
The penalty has been imposed on the company for abusing its dominant position in the market for Boxed Micro Processors (BMPs) for desktops in India.
In a statement on Thursday, the Competition Commission of India (CCI) said the India-specific warranty policy was discriminatory compared to Intel's warranty policies in China, Australia, and the rest of the world.
The commission also found the policy to have limited the choice of consumers and parallel importers, thereby causing a significant adverse effect on Indian consumers, it added.
The matter concerns the provision that warranty requests for Intel Boxed Micro Processors in India would only be entertained if they are purchased from an authorized Indian distributor of Intel.
Considering that the India-specific warranty policy was in place for eight years, the regulator imposed the penalty, which amounts to 8 per cent of Intel's average relevant turnover.
"However, considering the mitigating factors, including the discontinuation of the aforesaid policy from April 1, 2024, the Commission reduced the amount and imposed a penalty of ₹27.38 crore on Intel," the statement said.
Further, the CCI has directed Intel to widely publicize the withdrawal of the India-specific warranty policy and submit a compliance report.
The watchdog started investigating the matter after a complaint filed by Matrix Info Systems Pvt Ltd regarding the company amending its warranty policy for India effective from April 25, 2016.
According to this new policy, Intel would only entertain warranty requests for Intel Boxed Micro Processors in India if they are purchased from an authorized Indian distributor of Intel, the statement said.
"As a result of this India-specific warranty policy, Intel did not acknowledge warranty requests on its BMPs that are purchased from its authorized distributors in the rest of the world, and instead redirected them to the country of purchase to avail the warranty," the complaint alleged.
