SC to hear plea of Ultratech against submission of penalty

Supreme Court will hear on June 10 the plea of Ultratech Cement Ltd challenging an order of the Competition Appellate Tribunal asking 10 cement firms to deposit Rs 630 crore during the hearing of their pleas against imposition of penalty of Rs 6,300 crore on them for allegedly indulging in cartelisation.
The Competition Commission of India (CCI) had said cement manufacturers were indulging in cartelisation by not utilising the available capacity with an aim to raise prices in times of higher demand. It had imposed fine to the tune of Rs 6,300 crore on 10 cement firms.
The cement firms challenged the order of the CCI before the Competition Appellate Tribunal (COMPAT) that asked them to deposit 10 per cent of fine, that is Rs 630 crore, in a month and posted the matter for hearing in August. The COMPAT, however, had stayed the CCI's penalty order.

Ultratech Cements has now moved the Supreme Court against the order of the COMPAT. A bench of justices Gyan Sudha Misra and Madan B Lokur is likely to hear the plea on June 10.
Earlier, the CCI had found cement manufacturers violating provisions of the Competition Act, which deals with anti-competitive agreements including cartels.
Cement manufacturers on whom the penalty was imposed were ACC, Ambuja Cements Limited, Ultratech Cements, Grasim Cements now merged with Ultratech Cements, JK Cements, India Cements, Madras Cements, Century Cements, Binani Cements, Lafarge India and Jaypee Cements.
CCI had imposed the penalty on a complaint of Builders Association of India. The cement companies were fined 50 per cent of their average profit for fiscal years 2010 and 2011, the period for which they were investigated.