A court in India has suspended an investigation into the world's largest brewer after the antitrust regulator changed the company's status in the case.
The world’s largest brewer, AB InBev, has found itself recast from collaborator to subject of investigation in India’s competition case. A court intervention has now paused proceedings, adding further uncertainty to an already strained beer market.
Anheuser-Busch InBev has been drawn into the centre of an antitrust investigation in India after years of cooperation as a witness. According to documents reviewed by Reuters, India’s Competition Commission of India reclassified the brewer in November 2025 as a “party under investigation”, a move that has triggered a legal challenge.
The company has argued in court filings that this shift occurred without prior notice, hearing or formal reasoning, describing the step as contrary to procedural fairness. In a hearing on 16 April, a court in Karnataka agreed to pause the investigation into AB InBev, according to two sources cited by Reuters, with one stating that the judge saw merit in the brewer’s objections.
At the heart of the case lies an inquiry launched in 2022 into 42 alcohol retailers in Telangana, India’s largest beer-consuming state. The regulator is examining allegations that these retailers coordinated to favour AB InBev brands while excluding rivals such as Heineken, United Breweries and Carlsberg.
Court papers reveal that the CCI found merit in claims that certain retailers entered arrangements to stock and promote AB InBev beers, supported by incentives tied to exclusivity. As per the same filings, the complainant’s identity has not been disclosed.
AB InBev has countered that there is no evidence of communication between retailers to boycott competing products, and has maintained that the case lacks substance. The brewer had continued to supply detailed commercial information to the regulator between 2023 and 2025 before learning of its altered status.
Source: The Drinks Business
