India’s competition watchdog has uncovered evidence suggesting that several top global advertising firms colluded to fix commission rates, violating the country’s antitrust laws. The findings are part of an ongoing investigation by the Competition Commission of India (CCI), triggered by whistleblower inputs and detailed in an internal document reviewed ahead of surprise raids conducted in March.
Coordinated fee-fixing among industry players
The CCI’s confidential note, dated February 7, indicates that at least three industry cartels may have been operating through leading trade bodies—the Indian Society of Advertisers (ISA), the Advertising Agencies Association of India (AAAI), and the Indian Broadcasting and Digital Foundation (IBDF). These networks, the CCI found, facilitated the exchange of commercially sensitive information, including via WhatsApp groups.
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The agencies are believed to have aligned their commission structures and coordinated responses to clients, undermining fair market competition. According to the CCI’s preliminary review, AAAI and its member firms held virtual meetings to discuss pricing strategies and even considered retaliatory measures against agencies that strayed from agreed norms. Such behaviour is understood to have persisted since at least 2023.
Raids driven by whistleblower inputs
The March raids targeted Indian offices of several global ad conglomerates, including GroupM (owned by WPP), Interpublic, Publicis, and Dentsu. Offices of the AAAI and IBDF were also searched. The operation was enabled by the CCI’s leniency programme, which allows insiders to report cartel behaviour in return for reduced penalties.
Over the course of the 24-hour raids in Mumbai and Delhi, the CCI’s teams seized physical records and digital data as part of their forensic collection process. Under Section 3 of the Competition Act, the commission has the authority to investigate anti-competitive agreements such as price-fixing, bid rigging, and market allocation.
