Confidential CCI Order Says Tata Steel, JSW and SAIL Colluded on Prices

Overview

• A non-public order dated Oct. 6 finds 27 firms violated competition law and holds 56 executives liable, including JSW’s Sajjan Jindal, Tata Steel’s T V Narendran and four former SAIL chairpersons.
• Companies and named executives will be allowed to file objections, and senior CCI officials will review the case before issuing a final public order that could take months.
• The regulator has sought eight years of audited financials to gauge potential fines, which under law can reach up to three times profit or 10% of turnover for each year of wrongdoing, with individuals also liable.
• The probe began with a 2021 builders’ complaint and later widened to about 31 companies, with investigators examining WhatsApp messages that suggested price-fixing and production cuts.
• Shares of SAIL fell roughly 3% with JSW down about 1.3% and Tata Steel edging lower, while JSW and SAIL have denied the allegations in submissions to the watchdog.