A complaint filed by an Assam-based civil and transport contractor alleging anti-competitive practices by Oil and Natural Gas Corporation of India (ONGC) was rejected by the Competition Commission of India (CCI).
The CCI, in its order, said the complainant did not submit any evidence of bid rigging with respect to tenders floated by ONGC for hiring hydraulic cranes.
The complaint pertains to ONGC notice, issued in December 2012, inviting bids under two bids system from domestic bidders for hiring of 174 hydraulic cranes for the onshore deployment within the country for three years.
For North Eastern Sector, which included Assam, Tripura and West Bengal, bids were invited for 71 cranes.
It was also alleged that ONGC abused its dominant position by prescribing eligibility criteria that were unfair and discriminatory.
The regulator said that ONGC did not appear to be in dominant position because hydraulic cranes are hired in large scale not only by the other oil and gas exploration companies, but also by public and private sectors companies engaged in various other activities.
CCI said, in its order dated July 5, “no prima facie case is made out against opposite party (ONGC)”.
Cartelisation and abuse of dominant position are deemed anti-competitive under Sections 3 and 4 of the Competition Act, respectively.
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