CCI finds NEIL, Schaeffler India, SKF, Tata Bearing guilty of violating Competition Act

New Delhi, June 5 () The Competition Commission on Friday held that National Engineering Industries Ltd (NEIL), Schaeffler India, SKF India, Tata Bearing and their officials violated competition by way of cartelisation in pricing in the domestic industrial and automotive bearings market. The companies and their respective officials have been directed "to cease and desist in future from indulging in practices which have been found ... to be in contravention of the provisions of Section 3 of the Act".

Section 3 of the Competition Act pertains to anti-competitive agreements.

However, the Competition Commission of India (CCI) decided not to levy any penalty, saying that "ends of justice would be met if the parties cease such cartel behaviour and desist from indulging in it in future". The entities had agreed to pricing strategies to be adopted by them for seeking price increase from the industrial and automotive Original Equipment Manufacturers (OEMs) when the prices of steel, a major raw material to manufacture bearings, started increasing 2009 onwards, as per the watchdog. After taking into consideration e-mails, call records and other evidence related to the firms and their officials, the Director General (DG) found that there were violations of competition norms. According to the DG, the investigation arm of the regulator, "the period of cartelisation was from 03.11.2009 till at least 31.03.2011". The regulator noted that the cartel as defined under the Competition Act "stands established amongst the 4 parties viz. NEIL, Schaeffler, SKF and Tata Bearing, by way of meetings held on two occasions i.e. 03.11.2009 and 31.01.2011." In these meetings, price revision along with minimum percentage of price increase to be quoted to the OEMs was discussed and this has also been brought out by the evidence on record, it added. "... in the opinion of the Commission, it can well be presumed in the present matter that the impugned conduct of the parties has, in fact, resulted in AAEC (Adverse Effect on Competition) within India. Accordingly, the regulator said the firms and their officials have contravened the relevant provisions of the Competition Act and asked them to desist from indulging in such practices in the future.

Further, CCI has asked them to ensure that their future conduct is strictly in accordance with the provisions of the Act, failing which any such future behaviour would be vied seriously with attendant consequences. SRS ANU ANU