CCI reportedly raids Amazon, Flipkart’s biggest sellers

According to a report by Reuters citing multiple sources said that the Competition Commission of India (CCI) has reportedly raided top domestic sellers on Amazon and Walmart-owned Flipkart on Thursday morning. These raids were carried out regarding the accusation of violation of competition law, The report by Reuters further stated that offices of both Cloudtail and Appario which are the top sellers on Amazon where the e-commerce platform also holds an indirect equity stake were raided by CCI. However, the details of the raid carried out at Flipkart sellers haven’t been disclosed yet. A source further told that these raids by CCI were carried out in New Delhi and Bengaluru. The said raids were carried out in relation to an investigation CCI ordered in January 2020.

E-commerce platform Amazon and Flipkart have been accused of favoring some specific large sellers by the Indian retailer and their associations. The Indian foreign direct investment (FDI) guidelines restrict foreign-funded companies from giving preferential treatment to any sellers or selling their own products on e commerce platforms. The sellers, including the Confederation of All India Traders (CAIT), have also accused Amazon and Flipkart of giving heavy discounts, aggressive pricing, and other practices that create an unlevel playing field for the small sellers.