The Supreme Court on Wednesday set aside the Competition Commission of India’s Rs 202-crore penalty imposed on Amazon in connection with its 2019 investment in Future Coupons.
Amazon had challenged the penalty imposed by the CCI over allegations that it suppressed material information and made false statements while seeking regulatory approval for the transaction.
The matter comes up even as both sides last month agreed to withdraw all legal proceedings against each other following a mutual settlement.
In December 2021, the CCI suspended its approval for Amazon’s 2019 deal with Future Group, saying the company had suppressed material information and made “false and incorrect statements” while seeking regulatory clearance for the transaction.
The regulator had also imposed a penalty of around Rs 202 crore on Amazon and said the approval granted for the deal in 2019 would remain “in abeyance” pending a fresh examination of the transaction.
The dispute stemmed from Amazon’s $200 million investment in Future Group’s gift voucher unit in 2019. Amazon had argued that the deal gave it contractual rights preventing Future Retail from selling its retail assets to certain entities, including Reliance Industries.
The legal battle intensified after Future Group announced a Rs 24,713-crore deal to sell its retail, wholesale, logistics and warehousing businesses to Reliance Retail in 2020. Amazon opposed the transaction and secured favourable interim rulings from a Singapore arbitrator as well as Indian courts.
However, Future Group had approached the CCI alleging that Amazon concealed its strategic interest in Future Retail while seeking approval for the 2019 transaction. Following an inquiry, the regulator held that Amazon had “suppressed the actual scope” of the deal.
Amazon had denied concealing any material information and argued that revoking the deal approval would send a negative signal to foreign investors in India.
