NCLAT Rejects Amazon's Plea Against CCI Order, Asks Firm To Deposit Rs 200 Crore In 45 Days

The CCI in December last year had said that Amazon suppressed information while seeking clearances for the transaction back then and also slapped a fine of Rs 202 crore on the firm

In December last year, the CCI had suspended the approval given by it in 2019 for Amazon's deal to acquire a 49 per cent stake in Future Coupons Pvt Ltd, which is a promoter of Future Retail.

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In a setback to US e-commerce major Amazon, the National Company Law Appellate Tribunal (NCLAT) on Monday dismissed its plea challenging the decision of the Competition Commission of India (CCI) to suspend the approval for Amazon with Future Coupons, the PTI reported.

The a two-member bench comprising Justice M Venugopal and Ashok Kumar Mishra of the NCLAT has also upheld the Rs 200-crore penalty imposed against Amazon and granted the firm 45 days to pay. This fine is imposed for non-disclosure of relevant information on combinations under Section 43A of the Competition Act, 2002.

According to the report, the bench said that this appellate tribunal is in complete agreement with the CCI.

In December last year, the CCI had suspended the approval given by it in 2019 for Amazon's deal to acquire a 49 per cent stake in Future Coupons Pvt Ltd, which is a promoter of Future Retail.

The CCI had said that US giant suppressed information while seeking clearances for the transaction back then and also slapped a fine of Rs 202 crore on the firm.

Amazon had opposed Future Retail’s deal to sell assets to Reliance Retail as part of Rs 24,713-crore deal, which has now been called off. The deal was opposed by the e-commerce major on the basis of its 2019 transaction, whereby it had acquired the 49 per cent stake in FCPL.

The NCLAT concluded its hearing in April this year over Amazon's plea. All parties had filed revised notes of submissions along with relevant citations before the registry.

On Monday, apart from Amazon’s plea, the appellate tribunal had also reserved the order on two other petitions in the matter filed by Confederation of All India Traders and All India Consumer Products Distributors Federation.

Future Retail was part of the 19 group companies operating in retail, wholesale, logistics, and warehousing segments, which were supposed to be transferred to Reliance Retail as part of the Rs 24,713-crore deal announced in August 2020. In April, the deal was called off by the Mukesh Ambani-led Reliance Industries.