India’s commerce minister on Tuesday welcomed the Supreme Court’s ruling that Amazon and Walmart’s Flipkart should face investigations into alleged anti-competitive behaviour, saying their business practices would be looked into.
Piyush Goyal’s comments are the latest sign of New Delhi’s discontent with two US e-commerce giants, which have for years faced allegations of circumventing Indian laws and hurting small retailers to run their businesses.
On Monday, the Supreme Court pulled up Amazon and Flipkart for trying to stop the investigation ordered by the Competition Commission of India (CCI) in 2020, saying large organizations like them should volunteer to assist in any investigation. . read more
Goyal welcomed the court’s decision, speaking in the Indian Parliament, where he called for the “Quit India” campaign – a movement launched by India’s iconic freedom fighter Mahatma Gandhi in 1942 seeking an end to British rule .
Goyal told Indian lawmakers, “These companies used legal means to stop the investigation. I am happy to inform you that yesterday, on the day of Quit India Movement, all the efforts of these companies failed.”
“The apex court decided that the CCI should investigate the allegations of fraud, unfair trade practices,” Goyal said.
Amazon and Flipkart did not respond to requests for comment.
Both companies face an increasingly tough regulatory environment in India, where they also grapple with tougher e-commerce rules and the prospect of an investigation by the country’s financial crimes agency for alleged violations of foreign investment laws.
In February, a Reuters investigation based on Amazon documents revealed that it had given preferential treatment to a small group of sellers over the years. Amazon denied any wrongdoing.
Goyal told lawmakers that large e-commerce firms should operate a marketplace website that connects buyers and sellers, but found that they “consistently used various legal tactics” that harmed small businesses.
He said, ‘The government has taken strong steps.
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