CCI Probe against Steel Companies over Price Cartelisation
The Competition Commission of India (CCI) is investigating if steel companies colluded with each other to increase the price of the commodity. On the back of the sharp price hike in steel prices, the fair trade regulator has started a suo moto probe to ascertain if companies had formed a cartel. CCI has not received any written complaint on the issue. There has been a sharp rise in steel prices since June and there have been complaints from various quarters against this. Last month, Road Transport and Highways Minister Nitin Gadkari had also raised the issue, saying the increase in steel prices cannot be justified as there has been no increase in labour, raw material and power costs. The rise in steel prices had also found a place in Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman's Budget speech. While announcing reduction in customs duty and certain other duties on steel products, she had said, "MSMEs and other user industries have been severely hit by a recent sharp rise in iron and steel prices. Therefore, we are reducing customs duty uniformly to 7.5 per cent on semis, flat, and long products of non-alloy, alloy, and stainless steels."