NEW DELHI: In a setback to US e-commerce giant Amazon, the appellate tribunal on Monday dismissed its appeal against the anti-trust regulator’s verdict keeping in abeyance the approval to Amazon’s acquisition of 49% stake in Future Coupons Private Ltd (FCPL) as well as levying of a penalty of Rs 200 crore.
Dismissing Amazon’s plea against the verdict of the Competition Commission of India (CCI), the National Company Law Appellate Tribunal (NCLAT) on Monday said power of CCI to grant approval (to a deal) includes the power to keep the order in abeyance if it believes Amazon has breached the terms of the approval order.
Based on this premise, the NCLAT refused any relief from Amazon and dismissed the plea. The CCI through order in December 2021 had kept in abeyance the approval it had given to Amazon’s acquisition of 49% stake in FCPL and had asked Amazon to apply afresh for approval of the deal. The regulator has also imposed a penalty of Rs 200 crore on Amazon for ‘a deliberate design on it part to suppress the actual scope and purpose of the deal’.
The cCCI had to review its 2019 decision to approve the Amazon-Future Coupon deal after it was pointed out by different stakeholders including an independent director of Future Retail as well as by the Confederation of All India Traders (CAIT) that Amazon had not clearly disclosed to CCI its intention to take a strategic control over Future Retail Ltd (FRL), a company in which Future Coupons holds 9.82%, through its deal with FCPL.