Zomato, Swiggy Under CCI Lens for Alleged Unfair Business. Know Details
News 18The Competition Commission of India has ordered an investigation into alleged unfair business practices of food delivery platforms Zomato and Swiggy. A day after the CCI order, Zomato on Tuesday said in a regulatory filing that it will explain to the competition watchdog that it is in compliance with relevant laws and said it intends to “promptly comply with any recommendations given to us by the Hon’ble Commission”. What the CCI Order Says The competition watchdog in its order on Monday said, “The Commission is of the view that prima facie a conflict of interest situation has arisen in the present case, both with regard to Swiggy as well as Zomato, because of the presence of commercial interest in the downstream market, which may come in the way of them acting as neutral platforms.” It also said it warrants “a detailed scrutiny into its impact on the overall competition between the RPs vis-à-vis the private brands/entities which the platforms may be incentivised to favour”. “Given that Zomato and Swiggy are the two biggest platforms present in the food delivery segment, their respective agreements with RPs of this nature are likely to have an AAEC on the market by way of creating entry barriers for new platforms, without accruing any benefits to the consumers,” the CCI said in its 32-page order.