By IANS
Kathmandu : The highest anti-corruption body of Nepal has rapped Ace Refractories, a producer of refractory products in India, saying that it caused losses to a Nepali company by supplying inferior goods and now should pay compensation.
The Commission for Investigation of Abuse of Authority (CIAA), conducting a probe into the dealings of Udaypur Cement Industry Ltd, the biggest cement factory in Nepal, Thursday said the Nepali firm incurred losses of over NRS 3.6 million due to the inferior refractory bricks supplied by the Indian company.
The Indian firm was earlier owned by the Associated Cement Companies Ltd (ACC).
ICICI Venture bought out ACC's refractories division on a slump sale basis and renamed it as Ace Refractories.
Issuing a press statement, the Nepal watchdog said experts had indicated that Ace had supplied bricks not corresponding to the specifications made in the tender.
As a result, the kiln using the bricks collapsed within 47 days, the CIAA said.
It has asked Udaypur Cement to write to Ace, asking for compensation. If the Indian company did no pay heed, the CIAA recommended that the Nepali cement producer should take action as per the law of Nepal.
The watchdog has also sent its recommendations to the ministry of industries, commerce and supplies.