The Competition Commissioner of India (CCI) has imposed penalities on seven cement companies for bid rigging and cartelization. CCI has imposed total fine of Rs. 206 crore on them.
The companies are Shree Cement Ltd, UltraTech Cement Ltd, Jaiprakash Associates Ltd, JK Cement Ltd, Ambuja Cements Ltd, ACC Ltd,and JK Lakshmi Cement Ltd.
"The anti-competitive conduct was reaffirmed through SMS exchanged and calls made amongst the officials of the cement companies," the finance ministry said in a statement.
In a 120-page order, the Competition Commission of India also directed the companies "to cease and desist" from such activities while imposing penalty equivalent to 0.3 percent of each of their average turnover for three financial years.
The penalties imposed on the respective companies are UltraTech Cement (Rs 68.30 crore), Jaiprakash Associates (Rs 38.02 crore), ACC (Rs 35.32 crore), Ambuja (Rs 29.84 crore), Shree Cement (Rs 18.44 crore), JK Cement (Rs 9.26 crore) and JK Lakshmi Cement (Rs 6.55 crore).
The director of Supplies and Disposals in Haryana --a procurement agency - had filed the case. The CCI had ordered a detailed probe into the matter in 2014.
