Zomato says it will cooperate with CCI, explain why it is in compliance

Zomato, in a statement on Tuesday, has said that it will assist the Competition Commission of India (CCI) with its probe, as well as explain to the regulator why all of their practices are in compliance with competition laws and have no adverse effect on competition in India. This response comes after the CCI ordered a probe into the business models of Zomato, and its rival, Swiggy. 

“In their order, the Hon'ble Commission has mentioned that it has prima facie not found concerns with respect to our independence on levy of commissions or alleged bundling of services, while it would want to investigate aspects such as preferential listing of restaurant partners and pricing parity across platforms, etc,” it added. 

“We will continue to work closely with the Hon'ble Commission to assist them with their investigation and explain to the regulator why all of our practices are in compliance with competition laws and do not have any adverse effect on competition in India. We intend to promptly comply with any recommendations given to us by the Hon'ble Commission,” the company, led by Deepinder Goyal said. 

The CCI ordered the probe into the food delivery platform over alleged violations of Section 3(1) and 3(4) of the Competition Act. The regulator said that the conduct of Zomato and Swiggy requires an investigation by the Director General (DG) to determine whether they were in contravention of competition provisions. 

The probe comes in response to a complaint filed by the National Restaurant Association of India (NRAI) that has alleged anti-competitive practices by Zomato and Swiggy, which, it said, commands more than 90 per cent share of the food delivery industry in the country. 

Also read: CCI orders probe into Zomato, Swiggy biz models