Cement firms considering legal action against fine order

Cement firms considering legal action against fine orderSome the leading cement manufacturers in the country are considering approaching the Competition Appellate Tribunal against the order by the Competition Commission of India that imposed heavy fines on the firms for cartelization.

ACC and Ambuja Cements have stated that they will contest the order by taking their appeal to the Competition Appellate Tribunal. Meanwhile, Aditya Birla group's UltraTech Cement has said that it will look into the matter and take an appropriate action. UltraTech has been slapped with a fine of Rs 1,175 crore.

ACC Ltd has said in a filing with the stock exchange that the fine works out to be as much as Rs 1,147.59 crore. The Competition Commission of India has imposed a fine of 0.5 per cent of the total profit for the year 2009-10 and 2010-11. The company said that it has had provided the information and had sorted permission. The company said that it feels "aggrieved by this order'' and said it "will appeal against it before the Competition Appellate Tribunal''.

On the other hand, Ambuja Cements Ltd its fine works out to be around Rs 1,163 crore. It said that the allegations against it has false and it will appeal to the Appellate Tribunal and seek a stay on the penalty imposed on itself by the Competition Commission of India.