The Competition Commission of India (CCI) has ramped up its antitrust investigation into e-commerce giants Amazon and Flipkart, requesting access to their financial records. This move signals a significant development in the ongoing case, which has been unfolding for the past four years.
The CCI’s demand for financial statements from Amazon Seller Services and Flipkart Internet holds immense weight in determining potential penalties for the companies. According to Mint, the CCI’s decision is based on the companies’ defense against the accusations of anti-competitive behavior. A 2023 amendment to India’s competition law grants the CCI the power to impose fines of up to 10% of a company’s global turnover or income for the preceding three financial years in cases of anti-competitive conduct. The global turnover encompasses revenue generated both in India and abroad, excluding any sister enterprises operating in different markets.
Following the media reports of the CCI’s Director General of Investigation (DG) findings, Amazon and Flipkart expressed concerns about the potential public disclosure of sensitive information contained in non-confidential reports. The DG’s findings, which lay the groundwork for the CCI’s final judgment, delve into complaints alleging anti-competitive practices by the two e-commerce behemoths. The companies will have an opportunity to defend their case once they receive a confidential version of the report.
This latest development comes after the DG confirmed in August the suspected violations of competition law by the two internet platforms. Practices under scrutiny include preferential treatment and listing for certain sellers on the platform, exclusive product launches, and aggressive discounting. These tactics have raised concerns that they may have negatively impacted small retailers both on the platform and beyond.
