CCI raids Budweiser maker AB InBev’s Hyderabad office for alleged collusion with retailers

India's antitrust regulator on 19 December raided the Hyderabad office of the Indian unit of Anheuser-Busch InBev for alleged anti-competitive practices in the sale of beer, people with direct knowledge of the matter told Mint.

Officials of the Competition Commission of India (CCI) are conducting “search and seizure operations” at AB InBev’s regional sales office in Begumpet in Hyderabad on Thursday.

The raids follow an investigation by the regulator that proved AB InBev facilitated tie-ups with retailers that resulted in the boycott of other brands of beer, according to a copy of a CCI petition filed before the Chief Judicial Magistrate in New Delhi. Incentives to these retailers were paid by AB InBev through an agent named Sri Sai Srinivasa Enterprises in Hyderabad, the petition said, a copy of which Mint reviewed.

A spokeswoman for AB InBev, which sells popular beer brands such as Budweiser, Hoegaarden and Stella Artois, said while the company cannot comment on the specifics, it takes antitrust compliance very seriously. “We are working together in collaboration with the authorities,” she said.

According to the CCI, government-licensed retailers of liquor in the Kagaznagar-Adilabad, Nirmal-Adilabad and Jammikunta-Karimnagar zones in Telangana appeared to have entered into arrangements among themselves to sell only the products of AB InBev and exclude products of competitors such as United Breweries, Carlsberg and Bira. Regulators see this as the formation of a cartel in contravention of competition law.

During a raid operation, CCI officials are empowered to seize documents and electronic devices containing data for further investigation.