CCI imposes penalty on 10 paper companies, association for anti-competitive and cartelisation

The Competition Commission of India (CCI) has imposed a symbolic penalty of Rs 5 lakh on as many as 10 paper companies and Rs 2.5 lakh fine on the association of paper manufacturers for indulging in cartelisation and anti-competitiveness, the anti-trust body said in a press release on Thursday.

The anti-trust body had issued a final order against certain companies manufacturing paper from agricultural waste and recycled waste paper as well as an association, which were found to have contravened the provisions of the commission, which proscribe anti-competitive agreements.

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The commission has found these companies and an association have indulged in cartelisation in fixing the prices of writing and printing paper.

In this backdrop and further considering that during the pandemic, most businesses moved to the virtual mode thereby reducing the need for paper and affecting the paper business, CCI imposed a symbolic penalty of Rs 5 lakh each on the ten (10) paper manufacturers found guilty of cartelisation.

Further, a penalty of Rs. 2.5 lakh was imposed on the association for providing its platform for anti-competitive activities, the statement added.

CCI also directed the above paper manufacturers and the association, and their respective officials who have been held liable in terms of the provisions of Section 48 of the Act, to cease and desist in the future from indulging in anti-competitive conduct.

The case was initiated suo motu by the Commission on the basis of certain material found during the ongoing investigations of two other cases, the anti-trust body pointed out. 

Although the DG investigated 21 original paper manufacturers and the association, it only recorded findings of contravention of the provisions of Section 3(1) of the Act read with Section 3(3)(a) thereof against ten (10) such paper manufacturers and the association, the CCI said in its probe.

The commission didn’t reveal the names of these paper manufacturers involved in cartelisation and the period of cartel was noted by the DG to be from September 2012 till March 2013.