New Delhi: Commerce Minister Piyush Goyal applauded the Supreme Court’s ruling on Tuesday that Amazon and Walmart’s Flipkart should face antitrust proceedings, saying their business practices would be investigated.
Piyush Goyal’s remarks are the latest indicator of New Delhi’s dissatisfaction with the two US e-commerce behemoths, who have been accused of breaking the law to run their companies and harming smaller shops for years.
The Supreme Court chastised Amazon and Flipkart on Monday for attempting to block investigations ordered by the Competition Commission of India (CCI) in 2020, saying that large corporations like theirs should offer to participate in any investigation. Mr Goyal applauded the court’s judgement when speaking in Parliament, where he evoked Mahatma Gandhi’s “Quit India” campaign, which demanded an end to British rule in 1942.
“To stall the investigation, these firms used legal measures… I am delighted to report that on the day of the Quit India Movement, all of these companies’ attempts failed “Mr. Goyal explained. Mr Goyal added, “The highest court stated that CCI should investigate the claims of fraudulent, unfair trading practices that they participate in.” A request for response from Amazon and Flipkart was not returned.
In India, the two businesses are dealing with a more stringent regulatory environment, including the threat of stricter e-commerce restrictions and probes by the country’s financial crime agency for possible violations of foreign investment laws.
Mr. Goyal told MPs that the big e-commerce companies were meant to run a marketplace website that connects buyers and sellers, but it was discovered that they “continued to adopt various legal strategies” that harmed small businesses.
