Xiaomi urges CCI to withdraw Flipkart anti-competitive report over confidentiality concerns

Chinese smartphone giant Xiaomi has asked India’s antitrust regulator, the Competition Commission of India (CCI), to withdraw a report that found the company and Walmart-owned Flipkart were violating competition laws. Xiaomi, based on insider information, said the report contained confidential commercial information that should have been redacted, Reuters reported.

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The CCI investigation, which began in 2021, could be delayed if the report is withdrawn. The watchdog recently withdrew a similar report on Apple over concerns about trade secrets being exposed. Xiaomi’s appeal centers on the claim that specific data, such as sales figures for individual models, were included in the Flipkart report without proper redaction.

According to Reuters, while the CCI reports are not publicly available, they are made available to parties involved in the case.

What happens if a CCI report is withdrawn?

A retraction would mean that these parties would have to return the report for further corrections to ensure that sensitive business data is protected. Xiaomi, Flipkart and CCI have not responded to media inquiries so far.

Earlier this month, CCI reports on Flipkart and Amazon accused the e-commerce giants of favoring select sellers and partnering with smartphone brands like Xiaomi to bring exclusive products to their platforms, potentially violating antitrust laws. Xiaomi’s current objection, however, only relates to data in the Flipkart report, not that of Amazon.

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Xiaomi is pushing the watchdog to republish the report after removing sensitive information, similar to what was done in the case of Apple. The Flipkart CCI report also named companies like Samsung, Motorola, Vivo and Realme for engaging in exclusive product launches, which the commission said was anti-competitive.