Even HP resellers thought the price of toner and ink was too high – so HP India facilitated an illegal cartel
Regulator fines PC and printer giant for rigged tender bids and collusion
The Competition Commission of India (CCI) has fined HP Inc. and some of its resellers, for what it calls “cartelisation” activities that inflated the cost of PCs and printers – and which it says HP used to head off threats from resellers to sell counterfeit ink cartridges.
The ₹138.85 crores/$14.4 million fine won’t be a massive inconvenience to HP.
The facts of the case may be, as the CCI found HP told its resellers what prices to charge when they bid for tenders posted to a government procurement site. The PC and printer giant also prohibited some of its resellers from bidding on tenders.
In its order related to HP’s bids to sell printer supplies, the regulator reveals it accessed WhatsApp records that show HP staff and some of its resellers “were operating in a collusive arrangement...
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