The Competition Commission of India (CCI) said today that the Supreme Court has dismissed a case brought by major tyre brands challenging the regulator's order imposing fines totalling over Rs 1,788 crore for cartelization
Apollo Tyres was fined 425.53 crore, MRF Ltd was fined 622.09 crore, CEAT Ltd was fined 252.16 crore, JK Tyre was fined 309.95 crore, and Birla Tyres was fined 178.33 crore by the CCI.
It also demanded that they stop engaging in unethical business activities.
A fine of Rs 8.4 lakh was levied on ATMA and it was directed to disengage and disassociate itself from collecting wholesale and retail pricing through the member tyre firms or otherwise. Also, certain individuals of the tyre firms and ATMA were held accountable for the anti-competitive conduct, the release said.
In August 2018, the watchdog fined Apollo Tyres, MRF, CEAT, Birla Tyres, JK Tyre and Industries, and the Automotive Tyre Manufacturers Association a total of Rs 1,788 crore (ATMA).
The tyre makers have shared price-sensitive data and made collective decisions on tyre prices through their ATMA platform, according to the government statement.
During 2011-2012, they were judged to have breached Section 3 of the Competition Act. Anti-competitive agreements are prohibited under this law.
An appeal against the CCI order was filed with the Madras High Court, but it was dismissed on January 6th of this year.
"The tyre businesses were aggrieved by this and filed SLPs (Special Leave Petitions) with the Hon'ble Supreme Court, which were dismissed by its order dated 28.01.2022," the regulator said in a statement on Wednesday.
