NCLAT upholds the Commission's finding that the appellants...

NCLAT upholds the Commission's finding that the appellants violated Section 3(1) read with Sections 3(3)(c) and 3(3)(d) of the Competition Act by engaging in cartelisation and bid-rigging as cover bidders, and affirms the cease-and-desist direction under Section 27(a). The tribunal accepts the Commission's reliance on circumstantial evidence and admissions to infer an agreement. Concluding that application of relevant-turnover would produce a nil penalty given first-time bidders, NCLAT sustains the Commission's use of total turnover for computation but, applying proportionality, reduces the monetary penalty under Section 27(b) from 5% to 3% of the average annual turnover of the last three years. Application disposed.

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