Flipkart and Amazon continue to find themselves in hot water as their plea against the investigation that is being carried out by CCI is rejected by the High Court of Karnataka. Both the eCommerce giants are being investigated for exercising anti-competitive practices.
Flipkart and Amazon has been facing the wrath of offline retailers who claim to have tough market conditions due to the deep discounts and other offers being offered by eCommerce giants at regular intervals.
The division bench of the Karnataka High Court has said that it does not think that, in any case, the investigation should be crushed at this stage. The bench further added that the appellants shouldn’t fear of being investigated if they haven’t violated the Competition Act. The court also felt that the appeals were devoid of any merit, and it was why the requests by the tech giants were dismissed.
Investigation Against Flipkart And Amazon: The Big Picture
Food For Thought
The judges are right at pointing out that if the tech giants have done no wrong, they have nothing to fear. Amazon, which has made its presence felt in the international arena, is known for anti-competitive bullying. Therefore, the DVM’s complaint and the CCI’s investigation hold ground.
In an era when slogans like ‘vocal for local’ and ‘support small businesses are going viral, if Amazon and Flipkart are found guilty, they can face the wrath of the watchdog as well as the population. However, considering that giants like Amazon and Flipkart, along with other eCommerce players, are only able to scratch the surface of India retail market, retailers must employ alternate strategies to win their customers’ loyalty.
All said and done, authorities must make sure that there must be a level playing field for every retailer – be it online or offline.
