India’s Antitrust Watchdog Penalizes Intel $3.3 Million Over Discriminatory Warranty Policy

by | Feb 12, 2026 | General

Intel Corp (NASDAQ:INTC) stock is trending on Thursday. India’s antitrust regulator imposed a penalty on the chipmaker for implementing a discriminatory warranty policy on its boxed microprocessors in the country.

Regulatory Action

The Competition Commission of India (CCI) on Thursday imposed a penalty of INR 27.38 crores (approximately $3.3 million) on Intel Corporation for violating provisions of Section 4 of the Competition Act, 2002.

The case originated from information filed by Matrix Info Systems Private Limited.

The complaint alleged that Intel amended its warranty policy for India, effective April 25, 2016, under which the company would only honor warranty requests for Intel Boxed Micro Processors purchased from authorized Indian distributors.

Key Findings

Based on available evidence, the Commission determined Intel to be dominant in the relevant market of boxed microprocessors for desktops in India.

The regulator found the India-specific warranty Policy discriminatory compared with Intel’s warranty policies in China, Australia and the rest of the world.

“The Commission also found the aforesaid policy to have limited the choice of consumers and parallel importers and thereby causing an appreciable adverse effect on Indian consumers,” the CCI said.

Penalty Details

The Commission imposed a penalty calculated at 8% of Intel’s average relevant turnover, considering the policy remained in effect for eight years.

However, the regulator reduced the final amount to INR 27.38 crores after accounting for mitigating factors, including Intel’s discontinuation of the policy effective April 1, 2024.

The CCI also directed Intel to widely publicize the withdrawal of the India-specific warranty Policy and submit a compliance report.

Earnings & Analyst Outlook

Intel is slated to provide its next financial update on April 23, 2026.

  • EPS Estimate: Loss of 4 cents (Down from 13 cents YoY)
  • Revenue Estimate: $12.28 billion (Down from $12.67 billion YoY)

Analyst Consensus & Recent Actions: The stock carries a Hold Rating with an average price target of $40.91. Recent analyst moves include:

  • UBS: Neutral (Raises Target to $52.00) (January 23)
  • Citigroup: Neutral (Lowers Target to $48.00) (January 23)
  • Morgan Stanley: Equal-Weight (Raises Target to $41.00) (January 23)

INTC Price Action: Intel shares were down 0.83% at $47.88 at the time of publication on Thursday, according to Benzinga Pro data.

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