A Madras HC lawyer accuses Flipkart of anti-competitive behavior by affecting the prices of select sellers

A Madras High Court lawyer has written to DPIIT secretary Amardeep Singh Bhalla, maintaining that Flipkart is “introducing selective exemptions at the product level for selected sellers.”

The complaint alleged that this would have a direct impact on select sellers’ prices and would create a “distorted and uncompetitive environment”

This came after the CCI asked Flipkart and Amazon to provide turnover details to determine punishment for the duo for violating the country’s competition law

The e-commerce major is already facing punishment for violating Indian antitrust law Flipkart was accused of anti-competitive behavior and influencing the prices of products on the platform.

A Madras High Court lawyer has written to DPIIT secretary Amardeep Singh Bhalla, maintaining that Flipkart is “introducing selective exemptions at the product level for selected sellers,” ET reported.

Inc42 has not independently verified the report.

The complaint alleged that Flipkart had notified some sellers to offer discounts on their products listed on the platform as well as its social commerce vertical Shopsy.

Madras HC lawyer K Narasimhan also shared a screenshot of a communication between Flipkart and sellers, which reportedly shows that the e-commerce giant is planning to subsidize part of the discount on products through waivers. The e-commerce company was also accused of automatically adding sellers’ offers to disclaimer-based offers without obtaining their consent.

The lawyer argued that this would have a direct impact on select sellers’ prices and create a “skewed and uncompetitive environment,” the report said.

It has asked the DPIIT to take action against Flipkart, saying such practices create an uneven playing field in the e-commerce space and threaten to kill competition and harm the broader seller ecosystem.

The complaint comes at a time when Flipkart and other e-commerce companies continue to face criticism in the country for their business practices. According to reports, the Competition Commission of India has asked about it Flipkart and Amazon will provide details of the turnover to determine the penalty for the duo for violating national competition law.

Under the 2023 amendment to competition law, major e-commerce companies face fines of up to 10% of their global turnover or revenue.

In an investigation against Amazon and Flipkart, India’s antitrust regulator found that the duo favored selected sellers on their shopping websites. E-commerce companies have also sparked controversy alleged predatory pricing policyand Union Minister Piyush Goyal said their rapid development is a “matter of concern”.

Fast trading companies like Blinkit, Zepto and Swiggy Instamart are also growing rapidly has raised eyebrows on issues ranging from predatory pricing to deep discounting tactics.

It is worth noting that the Ministry of Corporate Affairs presented the above-mentioned draft act on digital competition to curb alleged anti-competitive practices of large technology companies.