Amazon’s Statement Against CCI Receives Acute Rebuttal From CAIT

The Confederation of All India Traders (CAIT) has come down heavily on US-based e-commerce giant, Amazon, and has condemned the statement the company made against the Competition Commission of India (CCI) in which Amazon said that the anti-trust body has no power to revoke the approval, once granted.

In a press release dated December 15, CAIT has strongly criticised the comment and questioned Amazon’s compliance with preceding court hearings if it actually believed that CCI does not have approval-invoking powers. The trader’s body said that it strongly criticizes the “My way or High way” attitude of Amazon.

“Surprisingly, they did not invoke this during various hearings in any court, including the recent hearing in SC. It is an afterthought just to get the matter escaped from CCI. The situation demands rebuttal from the CAIT,” the statement read.

CAIT also mentioned all the vectors that were involved in the case, including the evidence that the trader’s body retrieved alleging that Amazon deceived the apex anti-trust body. According to CAIT, Amazon fraudulently obtained CCI’s approval for 49% ownership in Future’s coupon subsidiary, Future Coupon’s Private Limited (FCPL).

The statement by the Jeff Bezos-owned e-commerce platform that derived criticism from CAIT was made during the discourse between the CCI and Amazon regarding revoking of approval that CCI gave in 2019.

Future Group is looking to liquidate its asset and trying to sell ownership to the local retail behemoth, Reliance, for $3.4 billion. However, Future is not able to do so due to Amazon’s $200 million deal and its proprietary rights of FCPL.

As CCI is reviewing its approval on the grounds of alleged deception by Amazon, the e-commerce platform warned the anti-trust body that revoking will give a negative message to foreign investors and will restrict competition in the country, reported Reuters.

It further stated that the power to revoke approval is a “drastic power,” and a statutory authority does not possess such power unless “expressly provided” according to Indian law. It argues that CCI’s approval regarding Amazon’s 49 per cent stake in the Future unit is a final decision, and not conditional.

Amazon’s rebuttal against the revoke comes at a time when Reliance is rapidly spreading its arms into the e-commerce industry. The US online retail service is now pitting against the Indian business mogul, Mukesh Ambani.

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