07:24 AM EDT, 07/11/2024 (MT Newswires) -- Amazon ( AMZN ) may face an investigation if the US e-commerce giant fails to enhance its compliance with the UK's Groceries Supply Code of Practice, the UK grocery regulator said Thursday.

The Groceries Code Adjudicator said it believes Amazon ( AMZN ) "consistently or mostly complies" with the industry code, citing its 2024 survey of merchants directly supplying Amazon ( AMZN ).

The regulator said that although the number of suppliers experiencing a code issue fell from 36% to 33%, Amazon's ( AMZN ) perceived code compliance score dropped from 59% to 47%.

The regulator said that it has told Amazon ( AMZN ) that it must take "swift and comprehensive action to demonstrably comply with the Code" and that it will not hesitate to launch a formal investigation to ensure Amazon ( AMZN ) treats its suppliers fairly and lawfully.

"We are very disappointed by these results and we are committed to improving them," an Amazon ( AMZN ) spokesperson said, adding that the company has introduced robust compliance procedures for its suppliers, making several improvements since last year's results and will make additional changes.

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