CCI penalises 24 entities, individuals for bid rigging in Railways tenders

The Competition Commission has slapped penalties totalling around Rs 1.16 crore on 24 entities, including individuals, for indulging in bid rigging and cartelisation in tenders floated by the Indian Railways.

As many as 11 entities and 14 individuals of these entities were found to have violated competition norms. Out of these 25, the regulator did not impose any penalty on one entity.

Besides slapping penalties on 24 of them, the watchdog has directed them to cease and desist from anti-competitive practices.

The matter was taken up by the Competition Commission of India (CCI) following a reference filed on behalf of the North Western Railways.

These entities indulged in cartelisation in the supply of High Performance Polyamide Bushes (HPPA) and Self Lubricating Polyester Resin Bushes (SLPR) to the Indian Railways by means of directly or indirectly determining prices, allocating tenders, controlling supply and market, coordinating bid prices and manipulating the bidding process, CCI said in a release on Tuesday.

"The evidence in the matter included regular e-mail communications and WhatsApp exchanges between the parties, quoting of identical/ similar prices by certain parties, filing of bids from same IP addresses by certain parties in close proximity...," it noted.

Together, the CCI has imposed penalties to the tune of Rs 1.16 crore on the 24 entities, the release said.

Out of the 11 entities, 4 had applied for lesser penalties under the competition law.

A cartel member can approach the CCI by way of filing an application seeking lesser penalty, in return for providing full, true and vital disclosures in respect of the alleged cartel.