Future-Amazon Case: Amazon will have to pay Rs 202 crore fine, NCLAT upholds CCI’s order

The National Company Law Appellate Tribunal (NCLAT) has upheld a fine of Rs 202 crore on US-based multinational company Amazon in the Future-Amazon case. The Competition Commission of India (CCI) has imposed this fine on Amazon.

Amazon challenged this fine in the NCLAT. The Bench of the Tribunal in its judgment today agreed with the CCI’s order of suspension of the deal in Amazon Future Coupons and upheld the same. The Tribunal held that Amazon had not disclosed the full details of the agreement to the Commission.

A two-member bench of the tribunal, Justices M. Venugopal and Ashok Kumar Mishra, ordered Amazon to pay the said fine amount to Future Group within 45 days. CCI, the regulator set up for fair trade, has approved Amazon’s Future Coupons Ltd. (FCPL) was suspended two years ago in December. The CCI had said in its order that American e-commerce company Amazon had hidden information while taking approval of the agreement.

The NCLAT upheld the CCI order saying that Amazon did not provide complete and transparent information about its strategic interests in Future Retail Limited. The closed retail store chain Big Bazaar was operated by Future Retail Limited (FRL), a Future Group company.