The Competition Commission of India, or CCI, has asked the Supreme Court to hear legal challenges to probe e-commerce platforms Amazon and Flipkart. The CCI said that Samsung, Vivo and other companies are filing challenges in different courts with the aim of stalling the High Court probe.
The CCI filed a court filing on December 3, which was not made public. The Competition Commission of India requested the court to hear 23 complaints by sellers against Samsung, Vivo, Amazon and Flipkart so that the matter can be decided at the earliest.
Wants to weaken and spoil investigation process: CCI The CCI said that as a result of the investigation findings, some sellers of Amazon, Flipkart, Samsung and Vivo have filed nearly two dozen cases in five high courts. Sellers have done this to avoid scrutiny. They also want to weaken and spoil the investigative process.
The investigation poses a major regulatory challenge for Amazon and Flipkart However, there is no statement from Amazon, Flipkart, Samsung, Vivo and CCI in this matter so far. The probe is a major regulatory challenge for Amazon and Flipkart. Because e-commerce sales in this market will cross $160 billion by 2028, which was around $60 billion in 2023.
Amazon and Flipkart violated antitrust laws The CCI's investigation unit concluded in August that Amazon and Flipkart violated India's antitrust laws by giving preference to select sellers on their websites.
The commission also found that smartphone companies like Samsung and Vivo violated that law by colluding with these two e-commerce companies to launch their products online.
Amazon and Flipkart denied any wrongdoing Amazon and Flipkart have been facing criticism from small retailers over their business practices for many years. They say they have suffered due to heavy discounts and preferential treatment offered by the platform. While Amazon and Flipkart have denied any wrongdoing.
CCI's investigation against Amazon and Flipkart began in 2020 The CCI probe against Amazon and Flipkart started in 2020, but has been delayed several times. Most of the 23 lawsuits filed across India challenging the case accuse the CCI of not following due process during its investigation.
A lawyer associated with the case said that the request to transfer 23 cases filed by the commission to the Supreme Court is likely to be heard this week.
Image Credit: (Divya-Bhaskar): Images/graphics belong to (Divya-Bhaskar).
