Builders’ Association of India (BAI) has urged the Competition Commission of India (CCI) to review the quantum of penalty it has imposed on 11 cement companies for cartelisation.The Association has said the penalty imposed on cement companies by the CCI may not be a ‘sufficient deterrent.’This was because of the money power of cement manufacturers, it said.BAI has also appealed to CCI to conduct an enquiry into the losses incurred by contractors due to such ‘profiteering’ by cement manufacturers and consider reimbursing the losses to the contractors.BAI has welcomed CCI’s action of imposing penalties on cement companies and said that it may not act as a deterrent to the alleged malpractices by cement manufacturers in view of the money power they have.Last week, the Competition Commission of India (CCI) had slapped Rs 6,307 crore penalty on 11 cement companies for forming a cartel. The period of investigation for the 11 companies ranges between May 20, 2009 and March 31, 2011. It has concluded that cement makers have controlled the supply through under-utilisation of capacity.According to DL Desai, trustee of BAI, they had urged CCI to impose a fixed percentage of the penalty as a deposit with the CCI in case the cement manufacturers approach the ‘Appellate Authority’.The CCI found various discrepancies in the working of the cement companies, which included deliberate under-utilisation of production capacity to create scarcity in the market and hence lead to an artificial inflation of prices.