JK Tyre and Industries Ltd. (JK Tyre) is under probe after the northern state government of Haryana accused the tyre manufacturer of being involved in fraudulent actions which resulted in a non-competitive bid back in 2018. The Competition Commission of India (CCI) is investigating the matter and further decided to expand its scrutiny to include other tyre manufacturers such as Apollo Tyres, Ceat, MRF Tyres, as well as the Indian units of France’s Michelin and Germany’s Continental AG.
According to a court filing, Haryana state alleged that JK Tyre practiced unfair trade while bidding to supply tyres for public transport vehicles and quoted high prices – around 34% higher than previous purchase rates.It prompted the Indian antitrust regulator to order a probe late last year saying “non-participation by other tyre manufacturers” was suggestive of a “concerted act to rig the bid.”
JK Tyre has challenged that demand at the High Court of Punjab and Haryana, and said that CCI’s probe team was “acting in a completely unreasonable, arbitrary and whimsical manner.”
The next court hearing will be on Oct. 28.