The High Court here held that MyCC’s decision to propose the fine was tainted with procedural impropriety and had breached natural justice.

Justice Wan Ahmad Farid Wan Salleh also said an appeals court had made it clear that a proposed decision – like in Grab’s case – can be challenged in courts through judicial review.

“I also hold that the need for Grab to exhaust the domestic inquiry process (by filing an appeal before MyCC’s Competition Appeal Tribunal) does not arise.

“The tribunal has no jurisdiction to deal with ‘proposed’ decisions,” Wan Farid said.

The court also ordered MyCC to pay Grab RM20,000 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 lawyers Yvonne Lim and Shanthi Kandiah, while Kwan Will Sen and Muayyad Khairulmaini appeared for MyCC.

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