ISLAMABAD: Competition Commission of Pakistan (CCP) ne 10 steel suppliers ko collusive bidding ke liye show cause notices issue kiye hain.
CCP ne in suppliers ko show cause notices diye hain jo ke mukhtalif Distribution Companies (DISCOs) ke procurement tenders mein collusive bidding mein shamil thay. Yeh kaarwai Section 4 of the Competition Act, 2010 ke zaahir tor par khilaf warzi hai, yeh baat ek press release mein batai gayi.
In 10 companies mein M/s. AM Associates (Pvt) Ltd, M/s. Ajmer Engineering Electric Works (Pvt) Ltd, M/s. Khalifa Sons (Pvt) Ltd, M/s. Siddique Sons Engineering (Pvt) Ltd, M/s. Vision Engineering (Pvt) Ltd, M/s. AW Engineering (Pvt) Ltd, M/s. FN Power (Pvt) Ltd, M/s. Gujranwala Cable (Pvt) Ltd, M/s. AH Associates (Pvt) Ltd, aur M/s. Process Dynamics (Pvt) Ltd shamil hain.
CCP ne suo motu notice le kar Section 37(1) of the Competition Act, 2010 ke tehat enquiry shuru ki. Is enquiry ke dauran, Lahore mein teen companies ke offices par chhaapey bhi maaray gaye jahan se ahem documents aur records qabzay mein liye gaye taake mazeed tehqiqat ki ja sakein.
Enquiry ke dauran, 2015 se 2022 tak ka bidding data jo ke DISCOs se hasil kiya gaya, khaaskar transmission towers ke procurement ke hawalay se, analyse kiya gaya. Economic evidence se maloom hua ke yeh companies aik jaise ya qareebi rates submit karti rahi hain, jinn mein farq sirf 0.001% se 1% tak tha. 357 tenders mein se 135 tenders mein collusion ke asaar paaye gaye, jismein identical rates, quantities ka taqseem, sirf ek party ka hissa lena, aur bid rotation shaamil tha.
Khaaskar, M/s. AM Associates, M/s. Ajmer Engineering, aur M/s. Khalifa Sons ne collective decision-making ke zariye rates aur quantities ka tayyun kiya, taake tender ka nateeja apne faiday ke liye manipulate kiya ja sake.
Enquiry report se yeh bhi saamne aya ke yeh collusive behavior firms ke darmiyan ehde ka hissa tha, jismein price fixing aur strategic non-participation ke zariye aik preselected company ko tender jeetne ka moka diya gaya. Yeh practices, zaahir tor par, Section 4(2)(a)(b)(c)(e) of the Competition Act, 2010 ki khilaf warzi hain.
CCP ki enquiry ke mutabiq, yeh anti-competitive behavior sirf aik subay tak mehdood nahi, balki Pakistan bhar ke market dynamics ko mutasir kar raha hai.
