Cement stocks gain as Compat quashes CCI's Rs 6,316-cr penalty

Cement stocks gained as much as 4.5 per cent today after the Competition Appellate Tribunal set aside Rs 6,316.59 crore penalty imposed on 11 cement firms by CCI on cartelisation charges.
Shares of JK Cement jumped 4.44 per cent, Shree Cements climbed 2.66 per cent and Ambuja Cements gained 2.45 per cent on BSE.
Similarly, ACC rose by 1.54 per cent and UltraTech Cement was up 1.37 per cent.
In a major verdict, the Competition Appellate Tribunal set aside Rs 6,316.59 crore penalty imposed on 11 cement firms by CCI on cartelisation charges and asked the fair trade regulator to hear the matter afresh.

The Tribunal also allowed the cement manufacturers to withdraw the 10 per cent penalty amount already deposited with the CCI (Competition Commission of India), which has been asked to pass a fresh order within three months.
The judgement follows appeals filed by the cement firms and their industry body Cement Manufacturers Association against the two CCI orders passed in June-July 2012, wherein the regulator had imposed a cumulative penalty of Rs 6,316.59 crore on cartelisation charges.
The companies included ACC, Ambuja Cements, Binani Cements, Century Textiles Ltd, India Cements, JK Cements, Lafarge India, Madras Cements, Ultratech, JP Associates and Shree Cements.