CCI investigation: Flipkart, Amazon challenge Karnataka High Court order before division bench

The case, which dates again to January 2020, noticed a number of hearings and submissions made by the events involved earlier than the only choose dismissed the plea of the 2 e-commerce gamers final week, giving CCI the go-ahead to launch a probe towards them.

Flipkart and Amazon have moved the division bench of the Karnataka Excessive Court docket difficult the order of its single choose which allowed the Competitors Fee of India (CCI) to conduct an investigation into allegations that the e-commerce majors indulged in anti-competitive practices, predatory pricing and accorded preferential therapy to some sellers.

“Flipkart filed its petition on Wednesday, whereas Amazon filed it on Thursday. Each are separate appeals. The bench is prone to take up the matter on Friday,” a supply conscious of the event advised FE.

Flipkart and Amazon didn’t remark.

The case, which dates again to January 2020, noticed a number of hearings and submissions made by the events involved earlier than the only choose dismissed the plea of the 2 e-commerce gamers final week, giving CCI the go-ahead to launch a probe towards them.

“….irreparable harm might be prompted to the appellant if the investigation was to proceed pending the current attraction, as (i) it might render the attraction infructuous, and (ii) subjecting an entity to an intrusive investigation by the DG in itself causes prejudice,” Flipkart mentioned in its attraction. “The Ld single choose failed to understand that the Info filed earlier than the CCI was a gross abuse of judicial course of, because the informant has indulged in discussion board buying and approached the CCI with unclean fingers….The Ld single choose has failed to understand that the informant earlier than the CCI had didn’t confide in the CCI that it was sponsored by CAIT (Confederation of All India Merchants), it was a member of CAIT and that CAIT had indulged in discussion board buying towards the appellant by approaching varied judicial boards..,” Flikpart mentioned in its petition.

Following a plea by the DVM (Delhi Vyapar Mahasangh), the CCI in January 2020 had directed its director basic to probe Amazon and Walmart-controlled Flipkart, stating that “…it must be investigated whether or not the alleged unique preparations, deep-discounting and preferential itemizing by the Ops (reverse events — Flipkart and Amazon) are getting used as an exclusionary tactic to foreclose competitors”. Amazon had then mentioned the CCI order was handed with out “prima facie software of thoughts”, and terming its findings “perverse, arbitrary, untenable in legislation”, had filed a writ petition within the Karnataka Excessive Court docket searching for a keep on the investigation.

In February 2020, the Court docket had stayed the CCI investigation on the bottom that the Enforcement Directorate (ED) had already initiated investigation into the 2 companies’ operational actions alleged to be in contravention of the FDI (overseas direct funding) coverage in e-commerce. In September 2020, the CCI filed an attraction within the Supreme Court docket towards the interim keep order issued by the Karnataka Excessive Court docket, following which recent listening to within the case began within the Excessive Court docket.

“The Ld single choose failed to think about that an allegation of deep discounting to “most popular” sellers can’t survive, the place there are not any related events promoting on the net market platform. Additional, the place items aren’t being provided at a “deep low cost” within the first place, the query of an unfair benefit to a vendor or a gaggle of sellers by selective “deep discounting” can’t come up,” Flipkart mentioned in its petition.

CAIT in an announcement mentioned that each these firms need to evade investigation and subsequently have approached the courtroom once more. “The velocity at which they’ve rushed to courtroom to file an attraction itself reveals their involvement in unlawful and malafide practices inflicting hurt to small retailers and the indian financial system,” the affiliation mentioned.