Airen Metals Private Limited Vs Hindalco Industries Limited (Competition Commission of India)
The Competition Commission of India (CCI) has dismissed a complaint filed by Airen Metals Private Limited (AMPL) and Airen Copper Pvt. Ltd (ACPL) against Hindalco Industries Limited (HIL) and Vedanta Limited (VL). The informants had alleged that HIL and VL, collectively referred to as the Opposite Parties (OPs), had contravened Sections 3 and 4 of the Competition Act, 2002, by abusing their dominant position in the refined copper market.
AMPL and ACPL, engaged in processing refined copper into finished products, claimed that HIL and VL, controlling approximately 75% of the Indian refined copper market, held a “duopoly status.” The informants stated that they had previously purchased copper wire rods and cathodes from the OPs until the financial year 2020-21.
The core of the informants’ grievance revolved around the OPs’ marketing policies concerning copper bookings, particularly the non-sharing of profits when unlifted copper was de-priced, and the alleged premature invocation of bank guarantees (BGs) during the COVID-19 pandemic.
According to the informants, companies purchasing copper were required to place orders based on the London Metal Exchange (LME) Cash Settlement Price (CSP). They argued that the OPs engaged in back-to-back hedging on the LME platform, which was evident from identical clauses in their marketing policies. These clauses allowed the OPs to liquidate unlifted bookings and recover losses, but, according to the informants, did not account for sharing any gains from such liquidation with the purchasers.
