India’s competition watchdog, CCI, has found market leaders Tata Steel, JSW Steel, and state-run SAIL, along with 25 other firms, in breach of antitrust laws for colluding on selling prices, according to a confidential order reported by Reuters.
The Competition Commission of India, investigation, which began in 2021, concluded that the companies worked together to fix prices between 2015 and 2023. As the world’s second-largest producer of crude steel, India has seen a surge in demand due to massive infrastructure spending, making this one of the most high-profile regulatory cases in the country’s industrial sector.
The confidential CCI order, dated October 6, 2025, also holds 56 senior executives personally liable for the price-fixing schemes. Among those named are JSW Steel Managing Director Sajjan Jindal, Tata Steel CEO T.V. Narendran, and four former chairpersons of SAIL.
Under Section 48 of the Indian antitrust law, these individuals face personal accountability and potential fines of up to 10% of their average income over the last three financial years. While the order has not been made public, Reuters reports that the watchdog has already directed the firms to submit eight years of audited financial statements to assess the scale of the violations.
The probe was originally triggered by a 2021 criminal case brought by a builders' association in Tamil Nadu, which alleged that steel companies hiked prices by 55% in a six-month period by artificially restricting supply.
An internal CCI document from July 2025 revealed that investigators uncovered WhatsApp messages exchanged between regional industry groups that suggested active "price fixing and production cuts."
The investigation, which eventually expanded to cover 31 companies and dozens of industry bodies, utilized raids on smaller firms to gather evidence of cartel-like behaviour across the sector.
The financial implications for the steel majors are significant. The CCI is empowered to impose penalties of up to three times a company’s profit or 10% of its turnover, whichever is higher, for each year of the breach. In the fiscal year ending March 2025, JSW Steel and Tata Steel reported standalone revenues of approximately $14.2 billion and $14.7 billion, respectively.
Following the Reuters report on Tuesday, shares of JSW Steel fell 1.33%, SAIL dropped 3.2%, and the Nifty Metal Index turned negative in Mumbai trade as investors reacted to the prospect of heavy fines.
The legal process is expected to continue for several months as the named companies and executives are given the opportunity to lodge formal objections. Senior CCI officials will review these comments before issuing a final, public order.
While JSW and SAIL have previously denied wrongdoing in submissions to the watchdog, they; along with Tata Steel and the specific executives named, declined to comment on the latest findings. The case remains confidential under CCI rules until the final proceedings are concluded.
