India probe finds Amazon, Walmart's Flipkart breached antitrust laws
Repeats Sept 12 story with no change in text
India says Amazon, Flipkart broke local competition laws
Companies had select sellers which hurt smaller players, reports find
Amazon, Flipkart have previously denied charges
By Aditya Kalra
NEW DELHI, Sept 12 (Reuters) -An Indian antitrust investigation has found U.S. e-commerce giant Amazon AMZN.O and Walmart's WMT.N Flipkart violated local competition laws by giving preference to select sellers on their shopping websites, according to reports seen by Reuters.
The Competition Commission of India (CCI) in 2020 ordered an investigation into Amazon and Flipkart for allegedly promoting certain sellers with which they had business arrangements and giving priority to certain listings.
In a 1027-page report on Amazon and a separate 1,696-page report on Flipkart, both dated Aug. 9, the CCI investigators said the two companies were found to have created an ecosystem where preferred sellers appeared higher in search results, elbowing out other sellers.
"Each of the anti-competitive practices alleged ... were investigated and found to be true," said both reports, which are not public and are being reported by Reuters for the first time.
"Ordinary sellers remained as mere database entries," the two reports said in identical conclusions on both companies.
Amazon and Flipkart, as well as the CCI, did not immediately respond to Reuters queries. They have previously denied wrongdoing and said their practices are in line with Indian laws.
The two companies will now review the report and file any objections before CCI staff decide on any potential fines.
The investigation's findings are the latest setback for Amazon and Flipkart in a country where they continue to face criticism for their business practices from smaller retailers, who say their businesses have suffered in recent years due to deep discounts offered online.
The investigation was triggered by a complaint from the Delhi Vyapar Mahasangh, which is an affiliate of the country's biggest trade body, Confederation of All India Traders (CAIT), that represents 80 million retailers.
In a statement to Reuters, CAIT welcomed the CCI investigation findings, saying it would study the reports and "escalate the matter" with the federal government.
Amazon and Flipkart are leading players in India's e-retail market which was estimated to be worth $57-60 billion in 2023, and set to top $160 billion in value by 2028, consultancy firm Bain estimates.
In the United States, the Federal Trade Commission has sued Amazon alleging the company uses "anticompetitive and unfair strategies to illegally maintain its monopoly power". Amazon has said that the FTC lawsuit is wrongheaded and would hurt consumers by leading to higher prices and slower deliveries.
PREFERENTIAL LISTING, DEEP DISCOUNTING
Indian investigators raided certain sellers of Amazon and Flipkart during the probe, following a Reuters investigation in 2021 which was based on Amazon internal documents and showed the company gave preferential treatment for years to a small group of sellers on its platform, and used them to bypass Indian laws.
The company has denied any wrongdoing but the CCI previously told an Indian court the Reuters special report corroborated evidence it had against Amazon.
The CCI investigation report on Amazon said preferred sellers on the platform "get the advantage in the (online) listing" and when a customer searches for any product, "his attention is drawn towards" those listings.
The practice of preferential listings and deep discounting of mobile phones - including selling products below cost price - causes a "catastrophic impact on the existing competition in the market."
In the report on Flipkart, the CCI said preferred sellers were provided various services such as marketing and delivery at a "miniscule cost." They were also enabled by Flipkart to sell phones with deep discounts which amounts to "predatory pricing" and forecloses competition, the CCI said.
"The anti-competitive practies are not limited to sales of mobile phones. They are equally prevalent in other categories of goods," both reports said.
Flipkart and Amazon for months tried to block the investigation through legal challenges in courts, but the Supreme Court in 2021 allowed it to go ahead.
Last month, India's commerce minister publicly called out Amazon by saying the company's investments were often used to cover its business losses.
Amazon in June last year said it will increase its Indian investment to $26 billion by 2030, including for its cloud business. It is also targeting merchandise exports worth $20 billion from India by 2025.
Reporting by Aditya Kalra; Additional reporting by Aditi Shah, editing by Deepa Babington
Gerelateerde activa
Laatste nieuws
Disclaimer: De entiteiten van de XM Group bieden diensten en toegang tot ons online handelsplatform op basis van uitsluitend-uitvoering, waardoor een persoon de beschikbare content op of via de website kan bekijken en/of gebruiken, zonder dat dit is bedoeld voor wijziging of uitbreiding. Dergelijk(e) toegang en gebruik vallen onder: (i) de algemene voorwaarden; (ii) risicowaarschuwingen; en de (iii) volledige disclaimer. Dergelijke content wordt daarom alleen aangeboden als algemene informatie. Wees u er daarnaast vooral van bewust dat de inhoud op ons online handelsplatform geen verzoek of aanbieding omvat om transacties op de financiële markten uit te voeren. Het beleggen op welke financiële markt dan ook vormt een aanzienlijk risico voor uw vermogen.
Alle materialen die op ons online handelsplatform worden gepubliceerd zijn bedoeld voor educatieve/informatieve doeleinden en omvatten geen – en moeten niet worden beschouwd als het bevatten van – financieel, vermogensbelastings- of handelsadvies en aanbevelingen, of een overzicht van onze handelsprijzen, of een aanbod of aanvraag van een transactie in financiële instrumenten of ongevraagde financiële promoties voor u.
Alle content van derden, alsmede content die is voorbereid door XM, zoals opinies, nieuws, onderzoeken, analyses, prijzen en andere informatie of koppelingen naar externe websites op deze website worden aangeboden op een 'zoals-ze-zijn'-basis, als algemene marktcommentaren, en vormen geen beleggingsadvies. Voor zover dat content wordt beschouwd als beleggingsonderzoek, moet u zich ervan bewust zijn en accepteren dat de content niet bedoeld was en niet is voorbereid in overeenstemming met de wettelijke vereisten die zijn opgesteld om de onafhankelijkheid van beleggingsonderzoek te bevorderen en als zodanig onder de geldende wetgeving en richtlijnen moet worden beschouwd als marketingcommunicatie. Zorg ervoor dat u onze Mededeling over niet-onafhankelijk beleggingsonderzoek en risicowaarschuwing in verband met de voorgaande informatie doorneemt en begrijpt; die kunt u hier lezen.
