India – E-commerce players Amazon and Flipkart have been found to have breached antitrust laws over alleged process of giving preference to select sellers on their shopping websites, according to the Competition Commission of India (CCI).
In a recent report by Reuters, CCI released a 1027-page report on Amazon and a separate 1,696-page report on Flipkart, both dated Aug. 9–which stated that 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,” CCI told Reuters.
The government body also said that the Indian units of five smartphone companies – Samsung, Xiaomi, Motorola, Realme and OnePlus – were ‘involved in the practice of exclusive’ phone launches in ‘collusion’ with Amazon and its affiliates, breaking competition law. Moreover, the Flipkart also mentioned that the Indian units of Samsung, Xiaomi, Motorola, Vivo, Lenovo, and Realme conducted similar practices.
“Exclusivity in business is anathema. Not only is it against free and fair competition but also against the interest of consumers,” CCI’s additional director general G.V. Siva Prasad wrote in the Amazon and Flipkart reports, in identical findings.
CCI also noted that during the investigation, both platforms had downplayed the allegations but government official stress the practices were rampant in the platform.
