CCI - ICF Chennai Specifying Eligibility Criteria For Procurement Through Tenders Cannot Be Considered As Anti-Competitive

The Competition Commission of India bench, comprising Ms. Ravneet Kaur, Mr. Anil Agrawal, Ms. Sweta Kakkad, and Mr. Deepak Anurag, held that the PCMM - Integral Coach Factory, Chennai, as a procurer, can specify its eligibility criteria and requirements when releasing the tender, and these specifications are not anti-competitive. Feeling aggrieved, the Informant filed a complaint before the Commission, alleging that OP-1 abused its dominant position by imposing restrictive eligibility criteria for the tender and supporting cartel formation by OP-2 and OP-3, in violation of Section 4 of the Competition Act. Observation by Commission The Commission referred to the table of previous year's tenders provided by the informant and observed that, aside from the bid quotations made by OP-2 and OP-3 in two tenders with minor price differences, there is no other evidence supporting the informant's allegations of cartelisation between them. Regarding the allegations against OP-1 under Section 4 of the Competition Act, the Commission noted that the claim about having only two active vendors, contrary to Railway Board guidelines requiring a minimum of five, was incorrect.