CCI Imposes Fine of Over Rs 6,700 Crore on 10 Cement Companies

A fine of more than Rs 6,700 crore has been imposed on the companies for acting in concert to fix prices.

Workers unload cement bags from a truck near a construction site in New Delhi, India. (Photo: Reuters)

The Competition Commission of India (CCI) on Tuesday imposed penalties of more than Rs 6,316 crore on 10 cement companies and their trade association, Cement Manufacturers Association (CMA), for cartelisation in the cement industry.

Earlier CCI had issued a separate order against Shree Cement imposing a penalty of Rs 397.51 crore.

Apart from penalising the CMA, the CCI ordered all the entities to “cease and desist” from indulging in any activity relating to agreement, understanding or arrangement on prices, production and supply of cement in the market.

It held the companies responsible for sharing details relating to prices, capacity utilisation, production and dispatch and thereby restricted production and supplies in the market, contravening the provisions of Section 3(1) read with Section 3(3)(b) of the Competition Act, 2002 Act.

Further, CCI also found the cement companies to be acting in concert in fixing prices of cement in contravention of the provisions of Section 3(1) read with Section 3(3)(a) of the Act.

(Photo: BloombergQuint)

In addition, a penalty of Rs 0.73 crore has also been imposed on CMA.

While imposing penalties, the Commission noted the action of the cement companies and CMA as being not only detrimental to the interests of consumers but also as detrimental to the whole economy, as cement is a critical input in construction and infrastructure industry — and thus vital for the economic development of the country.

Read more on BloombergQuint:
Competition Regulator Imposes Rs 6,316.6 Crore Fine Against Ten Cement Firms For Cartelisation