In a major legal victory for US e-commerce giant Amazon, the Supreme Court of India on Wednesday set aside the ₹202 crore penalty imposed on the company by the Competition Commission of India (CCI). The top court also overturned the June 2022 order of the National Company Law Appellate Tribunal (NCLAT), which had previously rejected Amazon’s appeal against the suspension of its 2019 investment deal with the Future Group.
A bench comprising Justices Vikram Nath and Sandeep Mehta delivered the landmark verdict, effectively striking down both the NCLAT judgment and the CCI’s December 2021 order. The antitrust regulator had initially suspended the Amazon-Future Coupons deal and levied the hefty fine, accusing the e-commerce titan of concealing the true scope of its investment and deliberate suppression of facts.
Pronouncing the judgment, Justice Vikram Nath stated that the appeal filed by Amazon had been allowed, thereby nullifying the previous regulatory restrictions. In a significant directive, the apex court also ordered that any financial amount already deposited by or recovered from Amazon in pursuance of the overturned orders must be refunded to the company within a strict timeline of eight weeks.
The ruling marks a pivotal turn in the long-drawn, high-stakes legal battle surrounding Amazon and the debt-laden Future Group. By quashing the regulatory hurdles and the multi-crore penalty, the Supreme Court’s decision brings substantial relief to the global e-commerce major, reshaping the landscape of corporate antitrust disputes in the country.