Amazon, Flipkart: Why CCI is probing antitrust complaint against e-commerce portals

The Competition Commission of India has opened an antitrust probe into Jeff Bezos-owned Amazon and Walmart-backed Flipkart after a traders’ body alleged preferential treatment and exclusive arrangements between the sellers on these portals. Delhi Vyapar Mahasangh, a Delhi based traders’ organisation which comprises members from MSMEs, filed a complaint against both Amazon and Flipkart. The probe comes days ahead of Amazon founder Jeff Bezos’ India visit and the CCI investigation is not the only concern for the billionaire. He is also expected to face unprecedented backlash from crores of traders across 300 cities in India.

Why are traders irked?

The tiff between e-commerce portals and traders has been going for a couple of years now as traders have alleged that e-tailers have ruined the business of SMEs, MSMEs and offline retailers. In the CCI complaint, Delhi Vyapar Mahasangh alleged that not only do these portals influence prices by providing discounts but are also engaged in anti-competitive practices. Selling of discounted products puts others on a disadvantage, the traders said.