Walmart's Flipkart says Indian probe shouldn't treat it the same as Amazon

Altex Industries

18/07/2021 09:52

By Aditya Kalra and Abhirup Roy
    NEW DELHI, July 18 (Reuters) - Walmart's  WMT.N  Flipkart
should not be treated the same as rival Amazon  AMZN.O  in an
Indian antitrust probe as the evidence against the two firms was
"qualitatively different", Flipkart argued in a court filing
seen by Reuters.
    Both Amazon and Flipkart have challenged the Competition
Commission of India (CCI) in court as they seek revocation of an
Indian court's June decision to allow https://www.reuters.com/world/india/india-court-dismisses-pleas-by-amazon-flipkart-quash-antitrust-probe-lawyer-2021-06-11
 an antitrust probe against them to continue. The companies deny
any wrongdoing.  urn:newsml:reuters.com:*:nL3N2NZ1BS
    India's government has called the U.S. firms arrogant https://www.reuters.com/world/india/indian-commerce-minister-arrogant-us-ecommerce-giants-flout-our-laws-2021-06-27
 and accused them of using legal routes to stall the
investigation.
    In final submissions made to a court in southern India's
Karnataka state, the Walmart unit argued that CCI and the court
"confuse the facts" between the case of Amazon and Flipkart, and
overlooked that they were "fierce competitors".
    To back its arguments, it said that a business agreement
examined by the CCI before ordering its probe was only between
Amazon and its sellers, and there was no such evidence against
the Walmart unit.
    "The allegations and the evidence before the CCI against the
Appellant were qualitatively different from those relating to
Amazon ... The CCI should have independently examined the case
against each of the two platforms," Flipkart said in its 46-page
submission, which was not public.
    The Indian court is likely to pass a written order on the
appeals in coming days. 
    Flipkart and Amazon did not immediately respond to a request
for comment. The CCI didn't respond outside regular business
hours on Sunday.
    For years, Amazon and Flipkart have denied allegations from
brick-and-mortar retailers about circumventing Indian law by
creating complex business structures.
    Trade minister Piyush Goyal last month lashed out on U.S.
e-commerce giants for filing legal challenges and failing to
comply with the CCI's probe, saying "if they have nothing to
hide ... why don't they respond to the CCI?"
    In February, a Reuters investigation https://reut.rs/2OCOT2W
 based on internal Amazon documents showed the U.S. firm for
years had helped a small number of sellers prosper on its
platform in India, using them to bypass foreign investment laws.
Amazon also has indirect equity stakes in two of its big online
sellers, Cloudtail and Appario, which get "subsidized fees",
Reuters reported.
    The Walmart unit argued in its submission that "unlike in
the case of Amazon", there were no structural links of any kind
between Flipkart and its sellers.
    Flipkart "ought to have been treated differently from
Amazon," it said.
    Amazon and Flipkart are leading players in an e-retail
market India forecasts will be worth $200 billion by 2026.

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ANALYSIS-India e-commerce rules cast cloud over Amazon, Walmart
and local rivals     urn:newsml:reuters.com:*:nL3N2O41XB
U.S. lobby group views India's e-commerce plan as worrying,
email shows     urn:newsml:reuters.com:*:nL3N2O618P
Special Report: Amazon documents reveal secret strategy to dodge
India’s regulators    https://www.reuters.com/investigates/special-report/amazon-india-operation/
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 (Reporting by Aditya Kalra in New Delhi and Abhirup Roy in
Mumbai;)
 ((aditya.kalra@tr.com; +91-11-49548021; Twitter @adityakalra;))