Flipkart’s online sellers sue CCI over antitrust probe

Three sellers of the Walmart-owned online shopping platform, Flipkart, have sued the Competition Commission of India (CCI) over an investigation which found Flipkart and its rival Amazon breached competition laws, reported the news agency Reuters citing court filings on Saturday, September 28.

The court filings come after CCI's investigations concluded in August found that some of the sellers, Amazon and Flipkart, and some smartphone brands violated Indian competition laws by giving undue preference to select online sellers and prioritizing certain listings, reported the agency.

Walmart-owned Flipkart is one of India's biggest e-commerce platforms, a competitor to Amazon, said the Reuter's report.

Three Flipkart sellers made submissions in the Karnataka High Court to “set aside” the investigation report and put a hold on CCI's process, as per the report.

The lawsuits could potentially delay the investigation, which started in 2020 and was fueled after retailers of the Confederation of All India Traders complained to the competition authority. Amazon and Flipkart denied any wrongdoing, according to the agency report.

CIGFIL Retail, Wishery Online, and Xonique Ventures are the three Flipkart sellers in their lawsuit alleged that during the investigation they were called to submit data to help officials, but were later named as accused, which is against due process, according to the court document cited the agency.

“The alleged investigation ... is arbitrary, opaque, unfair,” said the sellers in three separate court filings, which will come up for hearing next week, reported the agency.

Flipkart and CCI did not immediately respond to the agency's queries. As per the report, the agency could not immediately reach the three sellers.

A former Amazon seller also sued the competition watchdog last week and obtained an interim injunction to block the investigation from proceeding. The court filings argued that CCI did not give notice before making it an accused in the case, reported the agency.