Data seized from sellers on Flipkart, Amazon
NEW DELHI: Indian investigators seized data and documents from top sellers on Amazon.com Inc’s and Flipkart’s marketplaces in a second day of raids on Friday over suspected competition law violations, according to people with direct knowledge of the development.
The Competition Commission of India (CCI) early on Thursday started raiding two top domestic sellers on Amazon’s platform, Cloudtail and Appario, as well as some sellers on Walmart’s Flipkart, following allegations that the sellers and marketplaces had breached competition law.
The raids relate to an investigation CCI ordered in January 2020 in which Amazon and Flipkart face allegations of promoting preferred sellers on their websites and giving priority to listings of some sellers.
On Friday, CCI investigators were collecting emails, documents, and data from computers after questioning several officials of the seller companies, said two of the people mentioned above.
The CCI officers “are collecting relevant evidence for the investigation”, said one of the persons mentioned above. Data from mobile phones such as WhatsApp chats was also seized, the person said.
The watchdog does not make details of its raids public.
CCI, Amazon and Flipkart did not respond to a request for comment. Cloudtail and Appario, in which Amazon holds an indirect equity stake, also did not respond.
The raids follow a Reuters investigation last year that was based on Amazon’s internal documents and showed the company gave preferential treatment for years to a small group of sellers on its platform, including Cloudtail, and used them to bypass Indian laws.
It showed that Amazon had for years helped these sellers with discounted fees and provided other advantages. Amazon has denied any wrongdoing. CCI last year told a court in India that the Reuters report corroborated evidence it had against Amazon.
A second person with direct knowledge said CCI’s officers were trying to find details of top sellers operating on Amazon and Flipkart from 2016 to 2020.
CCI on Thursday asked Cloudtail’s chief executive officer to come to the office in Bengaluru and answer questions, said this person and a third person with direct knowledge of the developments.
Indian retailers have long contended that Amazon and Flipkart’s benefit a few big sellers. The companies say they comply with all Indian laws.