The Competition Commission of India (CCI) has penalized HP India Sales Private Limited and 21 resellers with a total fine of Rs 142.37 crore. This penalty comes after the entities were found guilty of cartelization and bid rigging in government procurement through the Government e-Marketplace (GeM).
In one instance, HP India faced a penalty of Rs 126.87 crore, while five of its resellers were collectively fined around Rs 1.22 crore for engaging in anti-competitive practices related to personal system products. The CCI, in a separate order, imposed a penalty of ₹11.98 crore on HP India and approximately ₹2.30 crore on 16 resellers for cartelization involving printer supplies products.
The CCI has instructed HP India and the implicated resellers to stop engaging in anti-competitive behavior. The violations were found to be in contravention of Sections 3(3)(d) read with Section 3(1) of the Competition Act, 2002. HP India had disclosed the cartel arrangements through lesser penalty applications under Section 46 of the Competition Act.
The regulator discovered that the resellers had collaborated by submitting support or cover bids in government tenders, leading to a distortion of the competitive bidding process on the GeM platform. In the case of printer consumables, 16 Tier-2 resellers, including companies like DD Enterprises and Vijay Stationery Mart, were found guilty of cartelization. Similarly, in the personal system products case, five resellers were implicated in cartelization related to computers and related products procured through GeM.
The CCI noted that HP India played a significant role in facilitating the cartel arrangements in both cases, making the company liable for violating the Competition Act. Apart from the monetary fines imposed on the company and resellers, penalties were also levied on officials of HP India and the concerned reseller firms under Section 48 of the Act.
