India’s antitrust regulator reduced the penalty on Coal India Ltd. and three of its subsidiaries to Rs 591 crore from Rs 1,771 crore in a case regarding unfair market practices.
The modified order on Friday came after the Competition Appellate Tribunal (COMPAT) in May last year quashed the Competition Commission of India’s (CCI) 2013 decision to slap a Rs 1,771 crore fine on the state-run coal producer and its subsidiaries, and asked the regulator to hear the matter again.
The CCI in December 2013 had found Coal India and its three subsidiaries – Mahanadi Coalfields Ltd., Western Coalfields Ltd., and South Eastern Coal fields Ltd. – guilty of abuse of dominant position and unfair fuel supply contracts.
It found the state-run company and its subsidiaries supplying low-quality coal at high prices, retaining the right to unilaterally terminate contracts with buyers, not providing a fair dispute redressal mechanism, and preferring other state-owned companies over private buyers of coal.
The CCI was acting on a complaint by the Maharashtra Generating Co. Ltd., Gujarat State Electricity Corp. Ltd., Madhya Pradesh Power Generating Corp. Ltd., West Bengal Power Development Corp Ltd and Sponge Iron Manufacturers Association.
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