India: NCLAT stays order imposing Rs752 crore penalty on United Breweries

The National Company Law Appellate Tribunal (NCLAT) has stayed an order passed by the Competition Commission of India (CCI) which imposed a penalty of Rs 751.83 crore on United Breweries Ltd (UBL), the company informed the stock exchanges on December 24.

NCLAT has put a stay on CCI's order upon a condition of pre-deposit of 10% of the penalty amount imposed on UBL.

The company said it will comply with the directions and the said 10% amount "will be deposited through a fixed deposit receipt within stipulated time as mentioned in the order."

The order has come as a relief for United Breweries, which had moved the NCLAT earlier this month challenging the order issued by the CCI on September 24.

The CCI had in September this year penalised Carlsberg India, UBL, All India Brewers' Association (AIBA) and 11 individuals after around four years of investigation for alleged cartelisation and anti-competitive practices.

CCI had passed the final order against UBL, Carlsberg India Pvt Ltd. (CIPL), and SABMiller India Ltd, now renamed as Anheuser Busch InBev India Ltd (AB InBev), among other firms.

The antitrust regulatory, in its 231-page order, had also ordered the companies, individuals, and association to "cease and desist" from anti-competitive practices in the future.

The period of cartelisation was considered to be from 2009 to at least October 10, 2018, with Carlsberg India joining in from 2012 and AIBA serving as a platform for facilitating such cartelisation since 2013. All three beer companies were lesser penalty applicants before the regulator.

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