NCLAT to hear Maruti Suzuki's appeal against CCI order on THIS date
'This is in furtherance to our letter dated 15th April 2025, regarding the CCI matter. We would like to inform you that National Company Law Appellate Tribunal (NCLAT) has notified the next date of hearing and the case is listed on 14th May 2025,' Maruti Suzuki said in an exchange filing on Wednesday.
Back in 2021, CCI had imposed a penalty of ₹ 200 crore on Maruti Suzuki for restricting discounts by dealers.
This case was taken up by CCI based on an anonymous e-mail dated November 17, 2017. The allegations against Maruti were that a 'Discount Control Policy' implemented by India's largest automaker restricted dealers from giving discounts to their customers beyond the discounts prescribed by the company, and dealers providing extra discounts were punished by levying a penalty and/or restriction of supply.
'The Competition Commission of India (CCI) passed a final order against Maruti Suzuki India Limited (MSIL) for indulging in anti-competitive conduct of Resale Price Maintenance (RPM) in the passenger vehicle segment by way of implementing Discount Control Policy vis-à-vis dealers, and accordingly, imposed a penalty of ₹ 200 crore upon MSIL,' Ministry of Corporate Affairs said in a statement in August 2021.
As per the ministry order, Maruti Suzuki reportedly used mystery shopping agencies (MSAs) to secretly visit its dealerships while posing as regular customers. This exercise aimed to find out whether dealerships were offering unauthorised discounts to buyers.
If such discounts were found, the MSAs would collect audio or video evidence and report it to Maruti Suzuki's management. The company would then send an email to the dealership titled 'Mystery Shopping Audit Report,' confronting them about the discount and requesting an explanation.
If the dealership failed to provide a satisfactory explanation, Maruti Suzuki would impose penalties—sometimes even warning of halting vehicle supplies. The company also controlled where the penalty had to be paid and how the collected amount was used, according to a statement from the ministry.
However, Maruti had appealed this decision before the NCLAT, and obtained a stay on the penalty imposed by CCI.
Maruti Suzuki share price was trading on a firm note on Wednesday, emerging as one of the top index gainers. Maruti Suzuki shares gained as much as 3.5% in trade today, hitting the day's high of ₹ 12273.
The automaker started off the session on a subdued note but soon witnessed strong buying action and was trading close to the day's high in the afternoon trade. As of 1.45 pm, Maruti Suzuki stock was at ₹ 12218.40, up 3.13%.
First Published: 30 Apr 2025, 01:13 PM IST
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