The Competition Commission of India (CCI) has accused Samsung, Xiaomi and other smartphone companies of colluding with Amazon and Walmart’s Flipkart to exclusively launch products on the e-commerce firms’ Indian websites in breach of antitrust laws.
According to antitrust investigations, the Indian units of five companies - Samsung, Xiaomi, Motorola, Realme and OnePlus - were “involved in the practice of exclusive” phone launches in “collusion” with Amazon and its affiliates, breaking competition law.
Earlier investigations conducted by the CCI have found that Amazon and Flipkart violated local competition laws by giving preference to select sellers, prioritising certain listings, and steeply discounting products, hurting other companies.
In Flipkart's case, a 1,696-page CCI report said the Indian units of Samsung, Xiaomi, Motorola, Vivo, Lenovo and Realme conducted similar practices. The inclusion of smartphone makers like Samsung and Xiaomi in the case could increase their legal and compliance headaches.
In both the reports, CCI said that during investigations Amazon and Flipkart "deliberately downplayed" allegations of exclusive launches, but officials found the practice was "rampant".
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