HP India fined $14.7M over government bid rigging

HP India has been fined 1.42 billion rupees — about $14.7 million — after India’s competition regulator said the company and related resellers coordinated bids for government contracts between 2017 and 2020.

According to the Competition Commission of India (CCI), the conduct involved tenders on the Government e-Marketplace and covered two separate cases: one involving PCs, and another involving printing consumables such as ink and toner. The regulator alleged that HP India and certain partners predetermined or communicated bid prices, submitted intentionally uncompetitive bids to create a false appearance of competition, and controlled discounts.

In the printing supplies case, the CCI said its investigation uncovered emails, witness statements, WhatsApp group conversations, and a 2019 video from a reseller meeting. Those materials, the regulator said, showed discussions about which companies would submit supporting bids, what prices and discounts would be offered, and which reseller should win specific contracts.

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The CCI said 16 Tier-2 resellers violated India’s Competition Act in that case. It fined HP India 119.8 million rupees, while the resellers were fined a combined 23 million rupees.

A separate investigation into products including laptops, desktops, workstations, POS systems, and peripherals found similar behavior. In that case, five additional resellers were named alongside HP India’s core business. The fines there totaled 1.3 billion rupees for HP India and 12.2 million rupees for the resellers.

The regulator’s final orders bring HP India’s total penalty to roughly 1.42 billion rupees, excluding the fines imposed on partners. The penalty was reduced because HP India self-reported the misconduct and filed a lesser-penalty application, the report said.

TechRadar Pro said it asked HP for comment but did not receive an immediate response.