India antitrust probe links Tata, JSW to steel cartel via WhatsApp chats, production data

New Delhi: Four major Indian steelmakers - Tata Steel, JSW Steel and state-run SAIL and RINL - disclosed their pricing plans to rivals and coordinated production cuts to reduce supplies, an antitrust investigation report seen by Reuters shows.

In the ​most high-profile antitrust case involving India's steel sector, an investigation by the Competition Commission of India found 28 firms colluded on steel prices, meaning ‌they could face hefty fines, Reuters reported exclusively on January 6.

The investigation report into the four major ⁠companies that has not been made public shows the ‌commission reviewed dozens of WhatsApp chats, including from groups named "Friends of Steel", "Tycoons" and "Steel Live Market" that were seized during 2022 industry raids. It analysed pricing changes, sales and production patterns.

Tata Steel, JSW Steel and state-run Steel Authority of India Limited, or SAIL, and Rashtriya Ispat Nigam Limited, or RINL colluded during 2018-2023, the report says.

"There is enough circumstantial evidence ... of concerted efforts by SAIL, RINL, JSW and Tata Steel," the commission report, drafted in April 2025, said.

The four companies "were influencing the ​market with the sensitive price information in advance," it said.

Consultancy BigMint estimates the companies account for 44.4% of India's steel market.

TATA STEEL 'CATEGORICALLY DENIES ANY WRONGDOING'

Tata Steel in a statement to Reuters said it "categorically denies any wrongdoing" and that it determines its prices independently based on prevailing market conditions and other factors.

It added it will submit its detailed responses to the competition commission.

JSW, SAIL and RINL ‌did not respond to ‌requests for comment from Reuters. Their executives denied wrongdoing during the investigation, the report said.

The competition commission, which does not make any cartel case details public in line with its rules, also did not respond.

WHATSAPP CHATS ⁠AND STEEL BAR TYCOONS

The steel case started in 2021 and the companies were in October asked to submit their financial details - typically asked for penalty calculations - and share any final objections.

Senior officials at the commission are reviewing the findings. They have powers to impose fines, or overturn investigation findings.

Tata, JSW, SAIL and RINL were not raided in the 2022 operation, but ⁠many smaller firms and industry groups were.

India's competition commission retrieved chats from the phones of other companies' executives ⁠that referred to the pricing plans of JSW, Tata, SAIL and RINL.

The report made no mention of any ‌message being written by the four companies' executives, but said the investigators correlated information in the chats with company's actual price changes, ‌and found them to be in synchrony.

One message in 2022 was posted in a group called "TMT TYCOONS" - TMT refers to steel bars used in construction. It said: "TODAY SAIL INCREASED Rs. 1000pmt in HR COIL/FLAT products. As per close sources, all primary producers are likely to increase prices."

Another message from 2020 read: "All main ‍producers like jsw, tata ... and sail planning to increase TMT price by 1500 to 2000 pmt from 1st Nov."

PRESENTATIONS AND 'CLEAR-CUT CORROBORATION'

India is the world's second-largest producer of crude steel, and demand for the alloy has risen as infrastructure spending has increased in the fast-growing major economy.

The competition commission has held JSW's billionaire Managing Director Sajjan Jindal, Tata Steel CEO T.V. Narendran, four former SAIL chairpersons and three former ones of RINL liable for price collusion, as Reuters reported earlier this month.

Some of RINL's internal government presentations pointed to the alleged collusion by the four players, the report showed.

An RINL presentation to a government committee showed that for every month between 2018-19 and 2022-23 it "submitted market prices of TMT bars of SAIL, TATA and JSW for arriving (at) the selling price of TMT bars by RINL."

Further, the commission report ​found that at least in 2020-21 there was a "controlled reduction ‌in production by Tata, JSW, SAIL and RINL to the tune of 16% to 22%".

One specific RINL presentation to a government committee in 2020 showed that it internally noted there were "production cuts by manufacturers".

"These facts (are) tantamount to clear-cut corroboration/admission of allegation of production cuts by the said big steel manufacturers," the report said.