New Delhi, June 9 (Representative) The Competition Commission of India (CCI) has penalised 7 firms found guilty of bid rigging and cartelization in Indian Railways’ tenders, an official statement said on Thursday.The CCI found the firms guilty of indulging in cartelisation in the supply of protective tubes to the Indian Railways by means of directly or indirectly determining prices, allocating tenders, controlling supply and market, co-ordinating bid prices and manipulating the bidding process.
Ten persons of the 7 firms were also held by the CCI to be liable for the anti-competitive conduct of their respective companies or firms, in terms of the provisions of Section 48 of the Act.The CCI imposed penalties at the rate of 5 pc of the average turnover or income upon the firms and their individuals found guilty of violating the provisions of the Act.The firms were found to have contravened the provisions of Sections 3(3)(a), 3(3)(b), 3(3)(c) and 3(3)(d) read with Section 3(1) of the Competition Act, 2002 (Act), which proscribes anti-competitive agreements.The case was initiated on the basis of a lesser penalty application filed by one of the cartelising entities.The evidence in the matter included regular e-mail communications between the parties and filing of bids from same IP addresses by certain parties etc.