NCLAT turns down MakeMyTrip plea to advance hearing on Rs 223.48-cr penalty

The National Company Law Appellate Tribunal (NCLAT) on February 23 refused to entertain online travel firm MakeMyTrip’s application to advance the hearing of its challenge to the Competition Commission of India’s (CCI) order slapping a Rs 223.48-crore fine for unfair business practices.

The NCLAT will now hear the appeal on April 11, as per its previous order. In October 2022, the CCI slapped penalties of more than Rs 392 crore on a clutch of aggregators. While online travel firms MakeMyTrip and Goibibo were fined Rs 223.48 crore, hospitality services provider OYO was charged Rs 168.88 crore for unfair business practices, according to a 131-page order.

It was alleged that MMT-Go imposed a price parity in their agreements with hotel partners. Under such pacts, the hotel partners are not allowed to sell their rooms on any other platform or on its own online portal at a price below what it is being offered on the two entities' platforms.

Besides imposing penalties, the competition watchdog has directed MMT-Go to "suitably modify its agreements with hotels/chain hotels to remove/abandon the price and room availability parity obligations imposed by it on its hotel/chain hotel partners with respect to other OTAs (Online Travel Agencies)".

The CCI has also asked it to modify agreements to do away with certain exclusivity conditions.

In December 2022, the company appealed against the CCI order in NCLAT. The tribunal, while admitting the appeal, directed MakeMyTrip to deposit 10 percent of the penalty to stay the recovery of the penalty and listed the case for final hearing on April 11.

MakeMyTrip subsequently filed a writ petition against the NCLAT order at the Delhi High Court but it refused to entertain the petition and observed that the company is  free to approach the tribunal for any other interim reliefs.