As e-commerce giants Flipkart and Amazon continue to face regulatory heat over their business models, the former has moved the Supreme Court against an investigation by the Competition Commission of India on allegations that it had abused its dominant position in the market.

The CCI investigation was ordered by the National Company Law Appellate Tribunal in March.

The NCLAT had in March set aside the CCI order of 2018 that had given a clean chit to Flipkart over a complaint by the All India Online Vendors Association (AIOVA), a body of over 2000 online sellers.

The AIOVA had sought an investigation against Flipkart on the alleged violation of Section 4 of the Competition Act, which deals with market dominance.

NCLAT, while setting aside CCI's order, had asked the agency to investigate Flipkart for allegations of abuse of dominant position.

Flipkart had made an appeal against the NCLAT order in Supreme Court in March, and the case was registered on July 17, as per details from the Supreme Court website.

CCI, AIOVA are the respondents in the case, which is still pending to be admitted by the Supreme Court.

When approached by CNBC-TV18, Flipkart did not respond to queries, while AIOVA said it did not wish to comment on the story.

The AIOVA had filed a caveat in the Supreme Court post the NCLAT order in March to ensure that it is heard in any case on the matter.

AIOVA had last month approached the CCI against Flipkart's acquisition of Walmart India, stating that it would lead to preferential treatment and that it should not be allowed due to pending investigations.

The association had earlier this month also approached the CCI with an antitrust complaint against Amazon under Section 3 of the Competition Act which deals with anti-competitive behaviour.

The CCI had in a separate Jan 13 order commissioned a probe against Amazon and Flipkart on alleged anti-competitive practices, based on a case filed by the Delhi Vyapar Mahasangh. The probe has been temporarily stayed by the Karnataka High Court.

First Published:Aug 27, 2020 2:56 PM IST