Mycc Fails In Appeal To Reinstate Rm86 8 Million Fine On Grab

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The Court of Appeal says the High Court was justified in overturning a proposed RM86.8 million fine on Grab for abusing its dominant position in the e-hailing market.
PUTRAJAYA: The Court of Appeal today dismissed the Malaysia Competition Commission’s (MyCC) bid to reinstate a proposed RM86.8 million fine on e-hailing operator Grab Holdings Inc for allegedly abusing its dominant position.
Justice S Nantha Balan, who chaired a three-member panel, said there was no merit in MyCC’s appeal.
Also on the panel hearing the appeal were Justices Lim Chong Fong and Ahmad Kamal Shahid.
Chong, who delivered the unanimous decision, said the High Court was correct in quashing the proposed fine.
“There are no provisions (in Competition Act 2010) for an internal appeal to be made (to Competition Appeal Tribunal) on ‘proposed decisions’,” he said.
Chong also said the commission had failed to inform Grab what it was being investigated for, as required under the law.
“There is no evidence (before the court) that MyCC informed Grab (about the investigation),” he added.
The court also ordered MyCC to pay Grab RM50,000 in legal costs.
MyCC had on Oct 3, 2019 proposed to impose the fine on Grab for breaching anti-monopoly laws by imposing restrictive clauses on its drivers, which the commission said could distort competition.
The commission said the clause in its contracts prevented its drivers from promoting other e-hailing services in their cars.
MyCC also said Grab’s merger with Uber saw the latter become the dominant player in the local e-hailing industry.
Grab subsequently commenced a legal challenge against MyCC over the proposed fine.
Grab was represented by Malik Imtiaz Sarwar, while Tommy Thomas appeared for MyCC. - FMT

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