India's competition watchdog has found market leaders Tata Steel, JSW Steel, state-run SAIL and 25 other firms breached antitrust law by colluding on steel selling prices, a confidential document shows, putting the companies and their executives at risk of hefty fines.

The Competition Commission of India (CCI) has also held 56 top executives, including JSW's billionaire Managing Director Sajjan Jindal, Tata Steel CEO T.V. Narendran and four former SAIL chairpersons, liable for price collusion over varying periods of time between 2015 and 2023, according to a CCI order dated October 6, which has not been made public and is being reported for the first time.

JSW declined to comment, while Tata Steel, SAIL, and the executives did not respond to Reuters queries. The CCI also did not respond to requests for comment.

The CCI investigation - the most high-profile case involving the steel industry - started in 2021 after a group of builders alleged in a criminal case brought to a state court that nine companies were collectively restricting the supply of steel and increasing prices. Reuters reported in 2022 the watchdog raided some small steel companies as part of an investigation into the industry.

The probe was later expanded to as many as 31 companies and industry groups, as well as dozens of executives, the CCI's October order, reviewed by Reuters, shows. Under CCI rules, details of cases related to cartel-like activity are not made public before they have concluded.

The CCI investigation has "found the conduct of the parties to be in contravention" of Indian antitrust law and "certain individuals have also been held liable," the order stated.

The findings are a critical stage of any antitrust case.

They will be reviewed by top CCI officials and companies and executives will also have the opportunity to submit any objections or comments in a process that is likely to take several months given the scale of the investigation.

The CCI will then issue its final order, which will be released publicly.

RISK OF SIGNIFICANT FINES

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

JSW Steel has 17.5% of the Indian market, Tata Steel 13.3% and SAIL 10%, according to data from commodities consultancy BigMint.

In the last fiscal year to March 2025, JSW Steel reported standalone revenues of $14.2 billion, while Tata Steel's were $14.7 billion.

The CCI is empowered to impose penalties on steel companies of up to three times their profit or 10% of turnover, whichever is higher, for each year of wrongdoing. Individual executives can also be fined.

JSW and SAIL have denied the allegations before the CCI, according to two people familiar with the matter, who declined to be named because the case was confidential.

One of them said JSW had also submitted its response to the CCI, and denied the allegations.

WHATSAPP CHATS REVIEWED

The CCI opened the case after Coimbatore Corporation Contractors Welfare Association alleged in a case it brought before a Tamil Nadu state court in 2021 that steel companies had hiked prices by 55% during a six-month period to March 11 that year, and were artificially boosting prices by restricting supply to builders and consumers.

After the public prosecutor said the issue was an antitrust matter, the judge then ordered the CCI to take "appropriate action" on the complaint of the association, whose members are involved in road and highway construction.

Other companies in the CCI document that were found to have allegedly colluded on prices, were Shyam Steel Industries, state-run Rashtriya Ispat Nigam and other smaller-sized firms. Shyam and Rashtriya did not respond to Reuters queries.

The CCI has asked the steel companies to submit their audited financial statements for the eight financial years to 2023, the October order showed. The watchdog typically seeks such details to calculate potential penalties.

While the October order did not detail the evidence analysed, an internal CCI document from July 2025 said officials had uncovered WhatsApp messages exchanged between regional industry groups of steel product makers that suggested wrongdoing.

The messages "indicate that they are involved in fixing the prices/cutting down production," said the July document.