India remembers Flipkart antitrust probe report after Xiaomi grievance

Xiaomi argued the report contained its model-wise gross sales, that are delicate data [File]
| Photograph Credit score: REUTERS

India’s antitrust physique has recalled its investigation report into competitors regulation breaches by e-commerce large Walmart’s Flipkart, a doc exhibits, the second such transfer after a report on Apple was revoked in August.

China’s Xiaomi had complained to the Competitors Fee of India (CCI) that the report – which discovered Flipkart, a few of its sellers, and smartphone gamers in violation of competitors legal guidelines – contained business secrets and techniques that ought to have been redacted, Reuters reported in September.

In response to two sources and an inner CCI doc dated October 1 seen by Reuters on Tuesday, the watchdog has advised recipients of the Flipkart report back to destroy it and provides an enterprise to that impact to keep away from additional distribution.

Xiaomi argued the report contained its model-wise gross sales, that are delicate data.

The CCI doc famous some knowledge and data was “inadvertently” included within the report and offered the events concerned with a brand new report, although it didn’t spell out what adjustments it was making.

Xiaomi declined to remark, whereas the CCI and Flipkart didn’t reply to Reuters’ queries.

In August, the CCI recalled an antitrust report on Apple after the corporate complained business secrets and techniques had been disclosed to a number of the events concerned.

In a prolonged investigation that began in 2020, the CCI discovered Flipkart, in addition to e-commerce rival Amazon, gave desire to pick out sellers and prioritised sure listings, and likewise colluded with firms like Xiaomi, Samsung and Vivo to launch telephones solely on their web sites.

A lot of the investigation course of, nonetheless, stays on maintain after Vivo and a few on-line sellers of the 2 e-commerce firms challenged their inclusion within the probe and obtained court docket injunctions.