CCI imposes $60 million penalty on three aluminium phosphide makers

NEW DELHI, INDIA: The Competition Commission of India (CCI) has imposed a penalty of Rs 317 crore ($ 60.23 million) on three companies for collusive bidding to supply aluminium phosphide (ALP) tablets to the Food Corporation of India (FCI). Three manufacturers of ALP tablet - United Phosphorus, Excel Crop Care and Sandhya Organics - have been penalised 9 per cent of their three years’ average profits. FCI used ALP tablets to preserve its central pool of foodgrains.

United Phosphorus has been asked to pay Rs 252.44 crore ($ 48 million), while Excel Crop will be required to pay Rs 63.90 crore ($ 12.14 million) and Sandhya Organics Chemicals Rs 1.57 crore ($ 0.3 million). In its directive, the CCI states that it has found firms entering into anti-competitive agreement and that their ‘acting together and quoting identical prices has deprived FCI of competitive bid rates in the manner of procuring ALP tablets.’

The commission has ordered the companies to cease and abstain from engaging in practices of manipulating the process of bidding in any manner. In a letter written to the competition watchdog last year, FCI had drawn attention to the rise in its cost of procurement because of an anti-competitive agreement among these manufacturers. CCI said it found these companies entering into a non-compete agreement and that their acting together and quoting identical prices had deprived FCI of competitive bid rates for procuring the tablets.

© WOC News