India recalls Flipkart antitrust probe report after Xiaomi complaint
According to a document, the antitrust body of India has withdrawn its inquiry report regarding violations of competition laws by the e-commerce giant Walmart’s Flipkart. This marks the second instance of such action following the recall of a report on Apple in August.
In September, Reuters reported that Xiaomi, a Chinese company, raised concerns with the Competition Commission of India (CCI) regarding a report. The report had discovered violations of competition laws by Flipkart, its vendors, and smartphone manufacturers, and Xiaomi claimed that it included confidential business information that should have been kept confidential.
As per two sources and an internal CCI document dated October 1, which was reviewed by Reuters on Tuesday, the regulatory body has instructed the recipients of the Flipkart report to discard it and provide a written assurance confirming its destruction to prevent any additional dissemination.
Xiaomi contended that the sensitive information in the report pertained to its sales figures categorized by model.
The information contained in the CCI document was acknowledged to have been included “inadvertently” in the report. Consequently, a revised report was furnished to the concerned parties, albeit without specifying the modifications being implemented.The report from CCI mentioned that certain data and information were included in the report “inadvertently.” It issued a new report to the concerned parties, but it did not specify the modifications being implemented.
Xiaomi declined to comment, while the CCI and Flipkart did not respond to Reuters’ queries.
An antitrust report on Apple was recalled by the CCI in August following the company’s complaint that confidential business information had been revealed to certain involved parties.
Following an extensive inquiry that commenced in 2020, the CCI discovered that both Flipkart and its e-commerce competitor Amazon exhibited favoritism towards specific sellers, highlighted particular listings, and engaged in collaborations with brands such as Xiaomi, Samsung, and Vivo to introduce smartphones exclusively on their platforms.
A significant portion of the inquiry is currently paused due to legal challenges from Vivo and certain online retailers associated with the two e-commerce firms, which resulted in court orders halting the investigation.
