NEW DELHI—The Competition Commission of India has fined five local tire makers and the Indian Automotive Tyre Manufacturers Association for price-fixing activities.
CCI announced Feb. 2 penalties totaling $237 million (INR 17.8 billion) against tire makers Apollo Tyres Ltd., MRF Tyres, Ceat Ltd., JK Tyre & Industries Ltd. and Birla Tyres, as well as a fine of $11,200 on ATMA for cartel activities.
The companies, according to the order, were "indulging in cartelization" by acting in concert to increase the prices of cross ply/bias tires variants sold in the replacement market and limiting and controlling production and supply in the said market.
The commission noted that the tire makers had exchanged price-sensitive data amongst them through the platform of ATMA and had taken collective decisions on the prices of tires.
The CCI also said that it found that ATMA collected and compiled information relating to company-wise and segment-wise data (both monthly and cumulative) on production, domestic sales and export of tires on a real-time basis.
"The sharing of such sensitive information made the coordination easier amongst the tire manufacturers," it added.
As a result, the CCI ordered ATMA to "disengage and disassociate" itself from collecting wholesale and retail prices through the member tire companies or otherwise.
The decision confirmed a previous order dated Aug. 31, 2018, which had been kept in sealed cover following a petition by MRF.
Individual penalties for the tire makers are $56.8 million on Apollo Tyres; $83.1 million on MRF Ltd.; $33.6 million on Ceat Ltd.; $41.3 million on JK Tyre and $23.8 million on Birla Tyres.
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