CCI rejects complaint against Safdarjung hospital, HSCC India

New Delhi : Competition Commission dismissed allegations of unfair business practices against government-owned HSCC India with regard to certain clauses in the tender for procuring medical equipment.

The complaint was also against Vardhman Mahavir Medical College (VMMC) and Safdarjung Hospital.

After finding that there was no unfair or discriminatory clauses in the tender, Competition Commission of India (CCI) rejected the allegations.

It was alleged that a tender floated by VMMC through its consultant HSCC India for various medical equipment, including Gamma Knife Proprietary (GKP), had unfair clauses.

Hospital Services Consultancy Corporation (HSCC) India provides hospital consultancy services.

According to the regulator, HSCC India and VMMC are sophisticated consumers and are procuring GKP to provide life-saving services.

"They need to procure what meets their requirements fully and provides them competitive advantages in provision of their services. They understand their needs and interests. As consumers, their choice is sacrosanct in a market economy.

"They must have freedom to exercise their choice freely in procurement of goods and services," CCI said.

Further, the regulator said it does not find any fault in the tender which specifies certain clauses in terms of technical specifications to meet their requirements.

"Of course, there could be competition concerns in rare cases where a monopoly/ dominant buyer stipulates unfair or discriminatory clauses, but the present case is not in that category," it added.