COMPAT reserves order on cement firms cartelisation case

Over the batch of pleas filed by the cement firms the Competition Appellate Tribunal (COMPAT) has reserved its order in the cartelisation case. The cement firms have filed the applications seeking stay on Rs 6,307 crore penalty imposed by fair trade regulator Competition Commission of India (CCI). A COMPAT bench headed by its Chairman, Justice VS Sirpurkar reserved its order over the applications of the cement producers after hearing the submissions.

The applications relate to petitions against penalty of Rs 6,307 crore imposed by CCI on 11 cement makers, as also a fine of Rs 73 lakh on the cement industry body CMA. The cement companies charged with cartelisation include Lafarge India, India Cement, JP Associates, Binani Cement, Ambuja Cement, Madras Cement and JK Cement.

The CCI had said in its 258-page order that the act and conduct of the cement companies establish that they are a cartel. The Commission holds that the cement companies acting together have limited, controlled and also attempted to control the production. CCI had found cement manufacturers in violation of the provisions of the Competition Act, 2002 which deals with anti-competitive agreements including cartels. The order was passed following probe by its Director General (Investigation) on a complaint filed by Builders Association.