Publicis Groupe challenges India’s Competition Commission over legal entity naming

French advertising giant Publicis Groupe has filed a petition in the Delhi High Court contesting the Competition Commission of India's (CCI) use of its global brand name rather than its Indian legal entity, TLG India Pvt. Ltd., in an ongoing antitrust investigation. The dispute centers on alleged coordination of advertising rates and discounts among major agencies, prompting the CCI to conduct raids on the Indian offices of global firms including Publicis, WPP, Dentsu and Omnicom.

Publicis argues that any proceedings should be directed at TLG India, asserting it is ready to cooperate once the regulator corrects the naming. The procedural challenge has stalled the case against Publicis for more than a year, while the broader cartel probe continues against other advertisers. No final court order has been issued, and the CCI has indicated it may add TLG India to the case without removing the parent company from the investigation.