India’s competition regulator has found HP India guilty of rigging bids in government procurement tenders, ordering the company and 21 of its resellers to cease the practice and pay penalties totalling $15 million. The Competition Commission of India (CCI) concluded that the company engaged in anti-competitive conduct by controlling the bidding process on the government’s electronic procurement platform for contracts involving personal computers and printer consumables.
The CCI said HP India dictated bid prices to its resellers and selectively withheld authorisation documents to determine which resellers could participate in government tenders. According to the regulator, these actions distorted competition in public procurement by influencing the bidding process and restricting independent participation by authorised resellers.
The orders, issued late Monday, relate to government tenders conducted between 2017 and 2020. The investigations covered procurement of personal computers as well as printer consumables through the government’s electronic procurement platform. HP India did not immediately respond to a request for comment following the regulator’s decision.
The regulator said the investigations were initiated after HP India filed lesser penalty applications under the Competition Act. According to the CCI, the company’s disclosures and cooperation during the investigations led to significant reductions in the penalties imposed on HP India. The commission treated the company’s applications as the basis for opening both investigations into the alleged anti-competitive conduct.
The CCI found that five resellers colluded with HP India in the case involving personal computer tenders, while 16 resellers were held liable in the separate investigation concerning printer consumables. The regulator concluded that the resellers participated in arrangements that undermined competitive bidding in government procurement.
In addition to imposing penalties on the companies involved, the commission also held several HP India officials and executives of the reseller firms personally liable under India’s competition rules. The CCI said the law allows individual penalties to be imposed on officers whose consent, connivance or involvement contributed to violations of the Competition Act.
Alongside the financial penalties, the regulator directed all parties found to have contravened competition law to immediately discontinue the identified practices. The commission also ordered them to conduct competition compliance training programmes within 60 days as part of measures aimed at preventing similar violations in the future.
The latest enforcement action adds to a series of cartel-related cases pursued by the Competition Commission of India in recent years. The regulator has taken action against companies across multiple industries, including the beer and cement sectors, as part of broader efforts to enforce competition law and address collusive practices affecting markets and public procurement. The orders against HP India and its resellers further expand the commission’s record of enforcement against alleged bid-rigging and cartel conduct in government contracting.
