A case involving Compagnie de Saint-Gobain, which states the French company forced some partners to buy glass from it exclusivly or risk beingexcluded from supplies altogether, is being looked over by India's antitrust watchdog, Reuters reported citing documents.
A retired glass industry executive who was redacted in the documents as the person wanted confidentiality, had filed the case against Saint-Gobain and its local unit to the Competition Commission of India (CCI) in May.
The producers have been accused of abusing their market position in so-called clear float glass, a smoothened version frequently used in windows, doors or facades, and coated glass variants. In the document, Saint-Gobain had a 44 per cent share of the float glass market in India and a 19 per cent share of the coated one.
Saint-Gobain said it was not aware of and nor had it served any complaint, notice or document. The firm and its India unit, Saint-Gobain India Private Limited, conduct their activities in compliance with laws in particular competition law, the group said in a statement.
The documents allege that Saint-Gobain entered into agreement with glass processors, requiring them to exclusive purchase glass from the company or face discontinuation of supplies if that obligation is not met.
In some cases, the firm directly fixed prices with large customers like Indian real estate giant DLF and then asked distributors to supply at those rates, thereby imposing unfair anti-competitive conditions.
India is a key market for Saint-Gobain. India's CEO, Benoit Bazin, said that India is flying, saying that it is its number three market in terms of operating income and that the company was the number one player in glass in India.