Competition Commission of India (CCI) has imposed a penalty on two entities for indulging in bid rigging of a tender floated by Maharatna company Gas Authority of India Limited (GAIL).
GAIL had floated the tender in question in the financial year 2017-18 for restoring a well site in Ahmedabad and Anand in Gujarat.
According to a statement issued by CCI, the two companies namely PMP Infratech and Rati Engineering were fined for indulging in bid rigging.
CCI imposed a penalty of Rs 25 lakh on PMP Infratech, Rs 2.5 lakh on Rati Engineering and Rs 1 lakh and Rs 50,000 each on their representatives, who controlled the companies. This is in addition to passing a cease-and-desist order.
It was noticed that the two firms were in constant touch with each other regarding GAIL's tender and even after they both had submitted their bids, the competition watchdog said.
Also the bids submitted by the two firms were from the same IP address and within a day's gap of each other, CCI further noted.
Moreover bids by both the firms were submitted from the premises of PMP Infratech in Ahmedabad, the CCI statement said.
This kind of conduct violates the provisions of Section 3(3)(d) read with Section 3(1) of the Competition Act, 2002, which prohibit anti-competitive agreements including bid rigging.
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