Displaying items by tag: Fine

Kyrgyzstan: Shukhrat Sabirov, the head of the State Antimonopoly agency, has reported to parliament that South Kyrgyz Cement was fined for selling exported cement at a price lower than it sells cement locally. The official made the comment in response to questions from a member of parliament, according to Kyrgyzstan Newsline.

Spain: The Department of the Environment has fined Cemex España Euro52,000 for emissions from two of its limestone and marl quarries in Valencia. The cement producer is being penalised for dust emissions from the sites, according to the El Mercantil Valenciano newspaper.

India: The Central Pollution Control Board (CPCB) has ordered Malabar Cements plant at Walayar, Palakkad in Kerala to comply with emissions standards or face closure. The cement producer has been given seven days to comply from the 31 December 2018, according to the Times of India newspaper. Malabar Cements was originally granted extra time, to 10 May 2018, to meet the new standards. The CPCB later declared that no cement producer would be able to flout the rules past 31 August 2018. It also intends to fine the company around US$570/day from the end of August 2018 for breaking the standards.

India: The Central Pollution Control Board (CPCB) has penalised four cement producers in Tamil Nadu for failing to follow emission standards. Chettinad Cement’s plants at Puliyur and Karikkali, Tamil Nadu Cements’ plant at Alangulam, Dalmia Cements’ plant at Salmiapuram and ACC’s plant at Coimbatore have been accused by the Ministry of Environment, Forests and Climate Change for not complying with emission standards for particulate matter, SO_x and NO_x, according to the New Indian Express newspaper. ACC and Dalmia Cements have been fined around US$420/day since 31 August 2018, Chettinad Cement has been fined around US$5000 for a 12 day delay in compliance and Tamil Nadu Cements has been fined over US$23,000 for a delay of 55 days.

Ireland: Irish Cement has been fined Euro4000 for dust emissions in December 2017. The subsidiary of CRH pleaded guilty at Limerick District Court to breaking the terms of the industrial licence at its plant in Limerick in early December 2017, according to the Irish Times newspaper. The cement producer reportedly unsuccessfully attempted to clear a build-up of dust in the plant’s kiln. A ‘significant’ amount of dust polluted the local neighbourhood subsequently leading to 21 complaints to the Environment Protection Agency. The cement producer was fined previously in mid-2018 for dust emissions occurred in April and May 2017.

Pakistan: The Supreme Court has ordered DG Khan Cement to pay nearly US$0.6m into a dam fund in relation to falling water levels at the Katas Raj Temples in Chakwal, Punjab. The cement producer must make a deposit of US$0.5m as payment for water it used and US$0.1m as a penalty for ‘misleading’ the court, according to the Nation newspaper. The court has accused the company of pumping water from boreholes leading to water loss at a pond at the temples.

India: The Supreme Court has agreed to examine a plea by cement producers about a charge of cartel-like behaviour made by real estate developers and upheld by the Competition Commission of India (CCI). However, the court has insisted that the payment schedule of the fine imposed will have to be upheld while the appeal proceeds, according to the Economic Times newspaper. The accused cement producers have been ordered to deposit 10% of the fine.

10 cement companies – including India Cements, Ramco Cements, Nuvoco Vistas Corporation, Ambuja Cement, ACC, Jaiprakash Associates, Century Textiles and Industries and UltraTech Cement – were accused by the Builders' Association of India and the CCI in 2010 of cartel-like behaviour. They were then fined US$905m or 0.5% of their net turnover. The producers first tried to appeal with the National Company Law Appellate Tribunal (NCLAT) but the tribunal dismissed their plea against the CCI finding in late July 2018.

Russia: The head of Job Safety, Industrial Safety & the Environment Department at Eurocement’s Nevyanskiy Tsementnik cement plant has been fined Euro42,000. The fine was issued by the local authorities for emissions of non-organic dust with high silicon content, according to URBC Daily News. The plant does not have an emissions permit.

India: The National Company Law Appellate Tribunal (NCLAT) has dismissed an appeal by cement producers against a US$975m fine for alleged cartel-like behaviour. The Competition Commission of India penalised 11 cement companies in August 2016, according to the Press Trust of India. The companies included UltraTech Cement, ACC, Ambuja, Ramco and JK Cement and the Cement Manufacturers’ Association (CMA). UltraTech Cement has been fined US$171m, the highest amount in the group.

Colombia: Cemex Colombia has been fined US$429,000 for taking groundwater from the Tunjuelo River without permission. The sanction of the District Department of the Environment of Bogotá imposed the penalty, according to the La Republica newspaper. However, the settlement exonerated Cemex of causing any environmental damage. The company says it does not plan to file any legal appeal for the sanction.