Excelsior Correspondent
JAMMU, Sept 17: The Department of Legal Metrology today registered case against Ambuja Cement and seized large quantity of cement bags.
Minister for CAPD, Choudhary Zulfkar Ali said that Department of Legal Metrology was getting various complaints and feedback from the market about the abuse of the dominant position by Ambuja Cement by selling the cement bags at different prices in the State.
After initial enquiry and investigation the department could not get any satisfactory response from Ambuja Cement as a result, a team of officers inspected the depot of the company at Kunjwani and booked Ambuja Cement for gross violation of the Legal Metrology Act and Rules.
“They were also violating Competition Act of 2002 by selling their products deliberately at the predated price to scuttle the local competition”, the Minister said, adding “during inspection it was found that company was selling PPC cement—Pozolana Portland cement into different colours of the bags in the same batch and marked with different MRP—Rs 500 for Jammu and Rs 570 for Kashmir”.
Irony of the case is that ex-depot price for the same products was also different and it was lower for Kashmir and higher for Jammu—Rs 346.63 and Rs 437.69 respectively. At nearby station in Punjab the billing was at Rs 335.
Even the bags were found weighing less by 400 to 600 grams in 50 kilograms of bag and mandatory declarations were also not marked as per the provisions of the Packaged Commodity Rules.
“The seizure memo has been issued and sale of such packaged having discrepancies has been stopped in the market till rectification is made at the company end and reasons for irrationality in marking ambiguous pricing at different locations in the State are given”, the Minister said.
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