E-Paper
3 suppliers fined Rs10 lakh each for bid rigging in Pune ZP tenders
PUNE The Competition Commission of India (CCI) issued an order on Wednesday to penalise three suppliers for bid-rigging of tenders floated by Pune Zilla Parishad (ZP) for procurement of sewing machines
PUNE The Competition Commission of India (CCI) issued an order on Wednesday to penalise three suppliers for bid-rigging of tenders floated by Pune Zilla Parishad (ZP) for procurement of sewing machines.
A penalty of ₹10 lakh each was imposed on M/s Klassy Computers, M/s Nayan Agencies and M/s Jawahar Brothers as the commission believed this had an adverse impact on the exchequer.
The commission found an agreement between the three suppliers to rig the bids and quoted bid prices close to each other with just a difference of a few rupees.
The ZP has multiple women empowerment schemes under which such machinery is provided to ensure financial independence for women in rural areas.
Ayush Prasad, chief executive officer, ZP said, “These tenders were floated in 2015-16 and were investigated following a complaint against the three suppliers. Based on this order now we would take further action which could even include blacklisting the suppliers.”
“These tenders were issued for one of the women empowerment schemes. We will also investigate the respective officials and committees that recommended the purchase under the said conditions. The CCI has found nothing against the ZP,” he said.
The CCI found that the three suppliers fixed prices close to each other which was concluded coupled with other factors like single IP address, coordination in other tenders, call data record, mobile location, among others. is conclusive of an agreement amongst the bidders to fix price, resulting in rigging the bids in the impugned tender of Pune Zilla Parishad.
The order issued on March 17, states, “The Competition Commission of India has found an agreement between three suppliers, to rig the bids in respect of a tender floated by Pune Zilla Parishad for procurement of Picofall-cum-Sewing Machine, in contravention of the provisions of Section 3(1) read with Section 3(3)(d) of the Competition Act, 2002, which prohibits anti-competitive agreements.”
The commission concluded that quoting of bid prices which were close to each other with a difference of just a few rupees by the bidders for the impugned tender was not a mere coincidence, but a result of consensus/ understanding amongst the bidders.
The commission also opined that such conduct in public procurements, besides defeating the tendering process, has an adverse impact on the exchequer.
Further, a penalty of ₹10,000 each was imposed upon each of the individuals of M/s Jawahar Brothers in terms of Section 48 of the Act. The other two bidders are sole proprietorship concerns and thus, no separate penalty is being imposed upon their respective proprietors. Besides, a cease and desist order was also issued against these suppliers.
