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The Competition Commission of India (CCI) has imposed penalties worth an estimated ₹206 crore on seven cement companies for bid rigging of a tender floated by the the Haryana government in 2012.
These companies include Shree Cement , UltraTech Cement, Jaiprakash Associates, JK Cement, Ambuja Cements, ACC and JK Lakshmi Cement. The tender was floated by the Director, Supplies & Disposals, Haryana for procurement of cement to be supplied to the States’ departments, boards and corporations.
In its order, the CCI has held that these cement companies, through “their impugned conduct, have engaged in bid rigging, in contravention of the provisions of Section 3(3)(d) read with Section 3(1) of the Act, which eliminated and lessened competition and manipulated the bidding process in respect of the impugned tender.” “Accordingly, penalty of ₹18.44 crore, ₹68.30 crore, ₹38.02 crore, ₹9.26 crore, ₹29.84 crore, ₹35.32 crore and ₹6.55 crore has been imposed upon Shree Cement, UltraTech Cement, Jaiprakash Associates, JK Cement, Ambuja Cements, ACC Ltd and JK Lakshmi Cement,” it said in its order.
The penalty has been “levied at the rate of 0.3 per cent of the average turnover of the cement companies of the preceding three years.”
The Commission said it also took notice of potential delay which would have occurred in the execution of public infrastructure projects due to cancellation of the “impugned tender”.
“The cement companies have been directed to cease and desist from indulging in the acts/conduct which have been held to be in contravention of the provisions of the Act,” the official statement added.
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