Flipkart sellers sue Indian antitrust authority over investigation into unfair competition law

Three Flipkart sellers have filed a lawsuit against India’s antitrust authority, accusing it of conducting an opaque and unfair investigation into competition law violations. Court documents reviewed by Reuters show that the legal challenge seeks to halt the Competition Commission of India’s proceedings.

Flipkart sellers take legal action to stop Indian antitrust probe, citing unfair process

Court documents obtained by Reuters show that three online sellers on Walmart-owned Flipkart have filed a lawsuit against India’s antitrust authority in response to an investigation that found Flipkart and its competitor Amazon had violated competition laws. .

The applications were filed after antitrust investigations in August found that Amazon and Flipkart, as well as their sellers and smartphone brands, violated local competition laws by prioritizing certain offers and giving disproportionate preferences to certain online sellers. Reuters reported this information.

Flipkart is a significant participant in the Indian e-commerce industry and competes with Amazon.

Three sellers on the platform have moved the Karnataka High Court to “set aside” the inquiry report and stay the Competition Commission of India (CCI) process to stay the critical proceedings.

The inquiry, initiated in 2020 in response to complaints from retailers belonging to the All India Traders Confederation, may be delayed by lawsuits filed by sellers Amazon and Flipkart. Flipkart and Amazon deny any wrongdoing.

Flipkart sellers accuse India’s antitrust authority of unfair practices in ongoing legal dispute

CIGFIL Retail, Wishery Online and Xonique Ventures, three Flipkart sellers, claim in their petitions that they were asked to provide data to help officials during the investigation but were subsequently declared suspects, which constitutes a due process violation, according to court documents.

In three separate court filings, the sellers argued that the “purported investigation… is arbitrary, opaque and unfair.” Applications will probably be considered next week.

CCI or Flipkart did not immediately respond to a request for comment, and Reuters was unable to contact the three first-time sellers.

Additionally, a former Amazon seller filed a lawsuit against the CCI last week and was granted a temporary injunction preventing it from continuing its investigation. The complaint filed with the court, reviewed by Reuters, said the CCI failed to provide notice before including it as an accused in the case.