Written by Aditya Kalra
NEW DELHI (Reuters) – India’s antitrust investigation has found that Amazon.com Inc and Walmart Inc’s Flipkart violated local competition laws by giving preference to some sellers, prioritizing some listings and cutting product prices sharply to the detriment of other companies.
Here are the key findings of the Competition Commission of India, detailed in two reports that are not public but have been reviewed by Reuters.
Amazon, Flipkart and the Competition Commission of India did not respond to requests for comment on the reports.
* Preferred sellers: Amazon had six preferred sellers, while Flipkart had 33, who received preferential treatment on their platforms in violation of antitrust laws. The sellers received marketing, warehousing and other services at “minimal cost.”
The Competition Commission of India also said that Amazon and Flipkart used their foreign investments to provide such subsidised prices.
The Indian Chamber of Commerce said there is an ecosystem in both Amazon and Flipkart “where no seller other than their preferred seller can survive.”
*Preferred listings: The Competition Commission of India said that most of the products appearing at the top of Amazon and Flipkart listings were from alleged preferred sellers. The CCI said this created a barrier for other sellers.
* Launching exclusive products: Both Amazon and Flipkart have partnered with smartphone and tech companies to launch their devices exclusively, a move that has hurt smaller retailers.
“The exclusive launches not only severely impacted regular sellers on the platform but also traditional retailers who were provided with mobile phones much later,” the Indian Chamber of Commerce reports.
* Deep discounts: Both Amazon and Flipkart have enabled their affiliated and preferred sellers to offer deep discounts, which includes selling at prices well below cost to keep competition at bay, CCI reports.
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