From Investing.com: 2024-11-11 02:00:36

India’s financial crime agency will summon executives from Flipkart and Amazon as part of an investigation into alleged foreign investment law violations. This comes after raids on e-commerce firms’ sellers. The Enforcement Directorate is reviewing documents seized during the operation, which found violations of foreign investment rules.

The antitrust investigation also found that Amazon and Flipkart breached laws by favoring select sellers. The market share data shows that Flipkart had a 32% share and Amazon had a 24% share in Indian e-commerce last year. The raids were triggered by findings that the platforms had end-to-end control over inventory, violating Indian laws.

Amazon and Flipkart have maintained they comply with Indian laws, but the Enforcement Directorate is investigating allegations that the companies exert control over inventory through select sellers. The federal agency plans to analyze business data from sellers and their dealings with the e-commerce companies over the past five years. Appario, once Amazon’s biggest Indian seller, was among those raided last week.

Online shopping platforms in India are facing increased scrutiny due to complaints of unfair business practices. The antitrust body also found that food delivery giants Zomato and Swiggy breached laws by favoring select restaurants on their apps. Regulatory scrutiny is intensifying as the e-commerce market in India grows rapidly.



Read more at Investing.com: India to summon Amazon, Flipkart executives as regulatory scrutiny grows, source says By Reuters