Universal Gauges And Instruments Vs Singareni Collieries Company Limited (Competition Commission of India)
The Informant filed information under Section 19(1)(a) of the Competition Act, alleging that the Opposite Party (OP), a government-owned coal mining company, violated Section 3(3)(d) by disqualifying its bid in a tender for tyre dismantling machines. The Informant participated in Tender No. 557005 issued on 08.11.2024 but was declared ineligible at the pre-qualification stage based on an evaluation report dated 11.01.2025, which stated that a machine earlier supplied by the Informant to NMDC had been non-operational since commissioning and therefore failed the proveness criteria.
The Informant disputed the report, stating that NMDC had issued a performance certificate on 29.10.2024 confirming satisfactory functioning since commissioning in March 2022 and had also released the performance bank guarantee in May 2024. The Informant argued that there was no complaint from NMDC and that the OP’s report ignored the evidence submitted. The Informant further stated that the OP cited the absence of manual operation and 2-speed features, but the NMDC tender did not require a manual feature, and the supplied machine already had an in-built 2-speed function. It alleged that the report may have been prepared to wrongfully disqualify its bid and favour another competitor.
