Enforcement
CCI closes case against IREL (India) Limited for alleged
abuse of dominant position
On January 3, 2022, CCI ordered an investigation against IREL
(India) Limited ("IREL") for imposing
unfair and discriminatory conditions and pricing in supply of Beach
Sand Sillimanite ("Sillimanite") to
MSMEs, in contravention of Section 4 of the Competition Act. For a
summary of the said CCI order, refer to JSA Competition Law Newsletter January
2022.
IREL is a Government of India undertaking, engaged in the
mining, production and sale of minerals like Ilmenite, Rutile,
Zircon, Girnet and Sillimanite.
The complainant inter alia alleged
that IREL: (a) increased the price of Sillimanite exponentially
from INR 9,000 (Indian Rupees nine thousand) per metric tonne in
2016-17 to INR 14,000 (Indian Rupees fourteen thousand) per metric
tonne in 2020-21, without providing any objective justification;
(b) engaged in discriminatory pricing by selling Sillimanite to
MSMEs