Pronouncing the National Stock Exchange guilty of abusing its dominant market position, the Competition Commission has asked the bourse to pay a penalty of Rs 55.5 crore within 30 days and also immediately stop subsidising its services.
In its order, passed last evening and dispatched today, the competition watchdog said that there was “a clear intention on the part of NSE to eliminate competitors in the relevant market’’.
Accordingly, the CCI has imposed a penalty of Rs 55.5 crore, which is five per cent of the bourse’s three-year average turnover, the order said.
In addition, the NSE has been directed to “cease and desist from unfair pricing, exclusionary conduct and unfairly using its dominant position in other markets to protect the relevant currency derivatives market with immediate effect.”
In its 170-page order, the CCI has also asked the bourse to maintain separate accounts for each segment with effect from April 1, 2012, and modify its zero price policy in the currency derivatives market and levy appropriate transaction costs within 60 days.
The exchange has also been asked to provide its brokers free choice to select the trading software systems for the consumer derivatives segment, under the overall supervision of market regulator SEBI.
The CCI order follows a complaint filed by its rival MCX-SX which had accused the NSE of abusing its dominant market position to corner business in the segment.