Business16 July, 20262 min read
CCI Penalizes HP India and Resellers for GeM Bid Rigging Hub-And-Spoke Cartel
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CCI fines HP India and resellers for bid rigging in government procurements. Hub-and-spoke bid rigging targeted GeM tenders between 2017 and 2020.
CCI hits HP India
India’s Competition Commission of India (CCI) penalised HP India Sales Private Limited and several Tier-2 resellers for bid rigging in government tenders, with the CCI’s orders covering activities occurring between 2017 and 2020. The CCI imposed a cumulative penalty of INR 138.95 crores (INR 1.38 billion) on HP India, and it said the conduct involved a “hub-and-spoke” arrangement on the Government e-Marketplace (GeM) portal.
In the personal systems products case, the CCI found HP India dictated final bid prices to resellers and restricted the issuance of Manufacturer’s Authorisation Forms (MAFs) to control which resellers could participate in GeM tenders. In the printer supplies case, the CCI said HP India and resellers orchestrated cover bids or support bids to ensure specific resellers retained legacy “Most Valuable Customer” accounts, creating a “façade of competition” for government procurers.
Leniency and cartel mechanics
The CCI rejected HP India’s framing of the conduct as a standard vertical supplier-distributor relationship, ruling that by participating in the same tenders as its resellers, HP India stepped into the role of a horizontal competitor. The CCI said HP India could not receive full immunity under the leniency program because it was the cartel’s architect, even though HP India was the first to report the scheme, according to The Tech Times’ account of Business Standard’s reporting.
Investigators analysed 60 tenders in the Delhi region, of which 41 exceeded ₹1 crore in value, and they found incriminating email correspondence in seven of those tenders, per Tech Times’ description. The CCI also noted that it exonerated certain resellers who established they did not act on HP India’s instructions and determined bid prices independently, while still treating HP India’s “prominent role” as grounds for only a partial reduction rather than total immunity.
Named resellers and next steps
In the personal systems case, CCI found five resellers acted in coordination with HP India, including Delphi Infosolutions, Digitech Computers, Orbit Techsol, Hind Technocare and Krishna Computers. In the printer supplies case, CCI imposed a penalty of ₹11.98 crore on HP India and approximately ₹2.30 crore on 16 resellers, naming DD Enterprises, Ascent Information, Kaypee Enterprises, Britex Enterprises, Alankar Distributors, Vijay Stationery Mart, G R Enterprises, Perfect Innovative, Khandelwal Traders, A Square Technologies, Innovative Solutions, Pioneer Technologies, Shakti Marketing, International Computer Resources and Arms Peripherals.
The regulator directed HP India and the resellers involved in both cases to cease and desist from the anti-competitive conduct, and it said both proceedings were issued on 13 July 2026 under Section 27 of the Competition Act. Ars Technica described the CCI’s findings as fines of 1.3 billion rupees for HP India and 119.8 million rupees for “indulging in cartelization” in the sale and supply of supplies products comprising toner, cartridges, and other consumable used with print hardware products.