A former leading Amazon seller in India is seeking to have a judge dismiss an antitrust investigation that determined the US e-commerce giant and various sellers violated local competition regulations, according to court documents released on Thursday.
The investigation carried out by the Competition Commission of India (CCI) concluded that both Amazon and Walmart’s Flipkart, along with some of their sellers and smartphone manufacturers, breached local laws by favoring specific online sellers and prioritizing select product listings, as reported by Reuters.
The findings stem from a 2021 Reuters investigation that revealed through Amazon’s internal documents that the company had provided preferential treatment to a limited group of sellers for an extended period, effectively using them to navigate around Indian legislation. Amazon has denied any allegations of misconduct.
One of the sellers implicated in the investigation, Appario, which is no longer active on the Amazon platform, challenged the CCI in the High Court of Karnataka on Thursday. The company is requesting that the investigation results naming it be “set aside,” as indicated in the court records.
No additional details regarding the basis for the lawsuit were immediately accessible.
This legal action represents the inaugural challenge to the CCI’s investigation, which began in 2020, and presents a significant hurdle for Amazon as it operates in India, a crucial market for the company.
In its legal filing, Appario also requested that a CCI order mandating it to submit financial records post-investigation be annulled, according to the court documentation.
Neither Appario, nor Amazon, nor the competition authority provided comments when approached for clarification.
Amazon has consistently reiterated that it does not offer preferential treatment to any seller and complies with all applicable laws. However, in October 2022, it was indicated that Appario would stop listing products on its website within a year.
The 2021 Reuters investigation reported that Appario was referred to internally as a “special” merchant and benefited from reduced fees and access to Amazon’s global retail tools designed for inventory management.
In 2022, the CCI conducted raids on Appario and several other sellers as part of its ongoing investigations.
© Thomson Reuters 2024
(This story has not been edited by NDTV staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)
