CCI fines Intel ₹27.38 cr over India-specific warranty policy on microprocessors

Competion Commission of India has imposed a penalty on Intel Corporation for its India Specific Warranty Policy in respect of Boxed Microprocessors.

The Competition Commission of India (CCI) passed an order on Thursday under the provisions of Section 27 of the Competition Act, 2002 (Act), imposing a penalty of Rs 27.38 crore upon Intel Corporation (Intel) for contravention of provisions of Section 4 of the Act.

The case originated from the Information filed by Matrix Info Systems Private Limited under Section 19(1)(a) of the Act. The Informant alleged that Intel amended its warranty policy for India with effect from April 25, 2016. As per this new policy, Intel would entertain warranty requests for Intel Boxed Micro Processors in India only when the same are purchased from an authorised Indian distributor of Intel (‘India Specific Warranty Policy’).


As a result of this India Specific Warranty Policy, Intel did not acknowledge warranty requests on its BMPs that are purchased from its authorised distributors in the rest of the world and instead redirected them to the country of purchase to avail the warranty.