Amazon sellers Cloudtail and Appario were raided for alleged violation of competition laws. Raids are being conducted by the Competition Commission of India (CCI). The raids – in Delhi and Bengaluru – are related to CCI’s 2020 investigation into anti-competitive practices by Amazon and Flipkart.
Amazon has been accused of giving preferential treatment to a few sellers, including Cloudtail, and using them to bypass Indian laws. An investigation last year by Reuters – based on Amazon documents – showed the retail behemoth had given preferential treatment for years to a select group of sellers.
Cloudtail has been a source of contention for years, with brick-and-mortar retailers accusing Amazon of giving it preferential treatment at the expense of smaller businesses. It was created after Amazon formed a joint venture with Infosys founder Narayana Murthy, which was then used to create Cloudtail.
India is a key market for Amazon and it has committed $6.5 billion to the country’s e-commerce sector.
