The Competition Commission of India (CCI) has accused Samsung, Xiaomi and other smartphone companies of colluding with Amazon and Walmart’s Flipkart. CCI says that these companies, in collaboration with e-commerce sites, launched exclusive products on their sites, which is a violation of anti-competition laws. According to a Reuters report, CCI found in its investigation that Amazon and Flipkart gave preference to certain sellers, priority to some listings and heavy discounts, which harmed other companies, which is a violation of local law. Five companies including Samsung violated competition laws. In a 1027-page report, CCI said that in collaboration with Amazon and its affiliates, the Indian units of five companies – Samsung, Xiaomi, Motorola, Realme and OnePlus – launched exclusive phones, which is a violation of competition laws. These companies including Samsung-Realme launched exclusive phones In the Flipkart case, CCI said in a 1696-page report that the Indian units of Samsung, Xiaomi, Motorola, Vivo, Lenovo and Realme launched exclusive phones. Exclusive sales are against free and fair competition and the interests of consumers CCI’s Additional Director General GV Shiva Prasad has written in these reports dated August 9 that exclusive sales are not only against free and fair competition, but also against the interests of consumers. Investigation of Amazon and Flipkart started in the year 2020 CCI also said that both of them used foreign investment to provide services like warehousing and marketing to selected sellers at cheap rates. Investigation of Amazon, Flipkart and their sellers started in the year 2020 with a complaint by an organization with 8 crore members associated with the country’s largest retailer association Confederation of All India Traders. Indian retailers have repeatedly accused Amazon and Flipkart, as well as smartphone companies, of misusing their phones. They allege that retailers do not get the latest models, hurting their business. 50% of phone sales were online last year, down from 14.5% in 2013 Indian research firm Datum Intelligence estimates that 50% of phone sales were online last year, up from 14.5% in 2013. Flipkart will have a 55% share of online phone sales in 2023, and Amazon will have 35%. CCI orders companies to submit financial statements Now, based on its reports, CCI has ordered some smartphone companies – Xiaomi, Samsung, OnePlus, Realme and Motorola – to submit their financial statements for the three financial years up to 2024, certified by auditors. The order is dated August 28. Companies could be asked to change business practices As per information, CCI will review any objections from Amazon, Flipkart, Retailer Association and smartphone companies on its report in the coming weeks, after which a penalty could be imposed. Also, companies could be asked to change their business practices. E-retail market in India can cross $16 trillion by 2028 E-retail market in India is growing rapidly and as per the estimates of consultancy firm Bain, it is expected to cross $16 trillion by 2028, which was at $57-60 billion in 2023.
