The Competition Commission of India (CCI) has imposed an aggregate penalty of Rs 142.37 crore on HP India Sales Private Limited and several of its resellers across two separate orders concerning bid rigging in government procurement through the Government e-Marketplace (GeM). Both proceedings, which covered tenders for personal computers and printing supplies, originated from lesser-penalty applications that HP India itself had filed with the regulator.
In its order, the CCI found that HP India had played a central role in facilitating and monitoring anti-competitive arrangements among resellers bidding for government contracts. “HP India seems to have indulged in customer allocation when there was no e-tendering, and ensured that such allocation continued even after the introduction of e-tendering on the GeM portal,” the antitrust watchdog said.
Delphi Infosolutions, Digitech Computers, Orbit Techsol, Hind Technocare and Krishna Computer were also found to have contravened the Competition Act, while the Commission said it did not find sufficient evidence against Comnet Vision, Softlabs Solution, Thoughtsol Infotech, Intensity Global Technologies and M Integraph System. Certain officials at HP India, Delphi and Orbit were held personally liable alongside their companies.
Of the total penalty, the CCI imposed Rs 126.87 crore on HP India and Rs 9.52 lakh on Delphi in the first order, with separate, smaller penalties levied on the other liable resellers and officials. In a second order, stemming from a 2020 suo motu case over GeM tenders in Delhi for HP ink and toner cartridges, the Commission found that HP India and 16 resellers had manipulated tenders between 2017 and 2020, resulting in a further penalty of Rs 11.98 crore on HP India after a lesser-penalty reduction.
HP India received reductions in both cases under the CCI’s leniency programme, provided under Section 46 of the Competition Act, which allows cartel members to have penalties reduced or waived in exchange for voluntarily disclosing full details of the illegal activity before an investigation report is filed. The CCI noted that HP India came forward and was the first to seek leniency in the matter before the regulator had material to form a prima facie view of the alleged conduct.
The Commission directed all contravening parties to cease their anti-competitive practices, deposit the penalties within 60 days, conduct competition compliance training and submit compliance reports within the same period.