Cement stocks may decline after the Competition Commission of India (CCI) has found cement manufacturers in violation of the provisions of the Competition Act, 2002, which deals with anti-competitive agreements including cartels. The order was passed pursuant to investigation carried out by the Director General upon information filed by Builders Association of India. CCI has imposed penalty on 11 cement manufacturers at 0.5 times of their profit for the year 2009-10 and 2010-11. The penalty works out to more than Rs 6000 crore. The news of CCI penalty hit the market after trading hours today, 21 June 2012.

The cement manufacturers upon whom the penalty has been imposed are ACC, Ambuja Cements, UltraTech Cements, Grasim Cements (now merged with UltraTech Cements), JK Cements, India Cements, Madras Cements, Century Cements, Binani Cements, Lafarge India and Jaypee Cements. While imposing penalty, CCI has considered the parallel and coordinated behaviour of cement companies on price, dispatch and supplies in the market.