Market Competition Regulator Imposes Rs 138 Crore Penalty On HP For Manipulating Govt Tenders
The Competition Commission of India (CCI) has imposed a fine totally Rs 138.85 crore on HP India Sales Private Limited, the Indian sales entity of US technology company HP Inc for allegedly manipuating government e-marketplace (GeM) tenders for personal computing products and printer supplies, Bar and Bench reported.
The market competition regulator found the foul practice by engaging in dictating bid prices to resellers, and manipulating participationof resellers in the GeM tenders by withholding MAFs in order to benefit itself.
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The CCI chairperson Ravneet Kaur and members Anil Agrawal, Sweta Kakkad and Deepak Anurag passed the order on Monday, imposing a penalty of Rs 126.87 crore in the personal systems case and Rs 11.98 crore in the printer supplies case. In addition, it imposed separate penalties on its resellers and officials.
Notably, the proceedings emerged from a lesser penalty application filed by HP India in 2020, following which the CCI directed its Director General (DG) to investigate Delhi-based tenders.
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The CCI found that HP and its resellers coordinated bids and arranged cover bids to protect “most valuable customer” or MVC accounts serviced by resellers before GeM introduced competitive bidding. The personal systems case concerned laptops, desktops, workstations and accessories. The DG analysed 60 tenders, of which 41 met the threshold of ₹1 crore in the Delhi region. It found incriminating emails concerning seven tenders, the report said.
The CCI concluded that HP controlled Manufacturer’s Authorisation Forms (MAFs) and transfer prices required by resellers to participate. HP competed directly in some tenders while dictating prices to resellers, enhancing its prospects of winning.
