Competition Commission Rejects Agents’ Plea, Upholds IATA’s New Payment System

The Competition Commission of India (CCI) has rejected an injunction by the Air Cargo Agents Association of India (ACAAI) on the Cargo Account Settlement System (CASS) that was launched by the global airline trade body, The International Air Transport Association (IATA) in May 2013.
The CCI, in its order dated 26 August, noted that ACAAI in its defence could not establish factors such as “balance of convenience and irreparable loss” for cargo agents. “Since CASS has not been adopted by various airlines in India, hence, cargo agents are not in for any unfair competition”, said an industry insider who requested anonymity.
The CCI also disposed off the injunction because the proposed billing system is still in its pilot project and has not been made mandatory for the airlines. The Competition Appellate Tribunal (COMPAT) too has rejected the appeal made by ACAAI on the same ground earlier this year.
However, according to air cargo agents, IATA has proposed the centralised payment system without any prior consultation with the agents in India. “The proposed system does not address our concerns such as delayed payments or erroneous payments. The system requires us to make full payment to the airline even if it’s an erroneous billing. We have to take up the corrections later. This leads to delay in operations and can prove disastrous for us”, said a member of ACAAI on the condition of anonymity. CASS is mandatory for cargo agents to follow the system.
As per IATA, CASS reduces paperwork for both the airlines and cargo agents as well as streamlines invoicing and collection of sales revenue processes. It also minimises the risk of loss or damage to invoices due to electronic processing of the data.
Currently, CASS is operational in 81 countries which Australia, Austria, Bangladesh Belgium, Denmark, France, Italy, Norway, the Netherlands, Pakistan and the United Kingdom. More than 240 airlines and over 8,000 cargo agents at 14,000 locations across the globe have adopted CASS.

(Representational Image)