The Competition Commission of India (CCI) has appealed in the Supreme Court against the Karnataka High Court’s interim stay on an investigation that the watchdog had ordered against e-commerce firms Amazon and Flipkart related to anti-competitive business practices, according to sources.
The Confederation of All India Traders (CAIT), which represents 70 million traders, termed the appeal in the Supreme Court against Amazon and Flipkart as “logical.”
“The appeal by CCI (in Supreme Court) is one of the most logical and most awaited steps to nail both Amazon and Flipkart for continuing their respective mal-practices including predatory pricing, deep discounting (and) exclusive arrangements with brands and holding inventory,” alleged Praveen Khandelwal, secretary-general of the CAIT, which has been leading a campaign against both Amazon and Walmart for more than two years.
Early this year, the CCI ordered an investigation against e-commerce players after the Delhi Vyapar Mahasangh, a traders’ body, filed a complaint against the firms’ practices like giving deep discounts on online sales of smartphones and cherry-picking sellers. In a major relief to e-commerce majors Amazon India and Flipkart, the Karnataka High Court had granted an interim stay on the CCI’s order. The court had granted the respondents eight weeks to file a counter.
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