The Supreme Court set aside CCI’s 2021 order and NCLAT’s 2022 ruling against Amazon, directing refund of any recovered amount within eight weeks.
The Supreme Court on Wednesday set aside the Competition Commission of India’s (CCI) 2,02 billion rupees ($21 million) penalty on Amazon and quashed a 2022 order of the National Company Law Appellate Tribunal (NCLAT) that had upheld the regulator’s action in the Future Coupons investment case.
A bench of Justices Vikram Nath and Sandeep Mehta allowed Amazon’s appeal against the NCLAT ruling and also struck down the CCI’s December 17, 2021 order that had suspended Amazon’s 2019 investment deal with Future Coupons Pvt Ltd.
“In view of the findings recorded above, the appeal is allowed. The impugned judgement dated June 13, 2022 passed by the NCLAT and order dated December 17, 2021 passed by the CCI are set aside,”
Justice Nath said while pronouncing the verdict.
The court also directed that any amount deposited or recovered from Amazon pursuant to the CCI and NCLAT orders be refunded within eight weeks.
The case stems from Amazon’s 2019 investment in Future Coupons, a promoter entity of Future Retail. Under the transaction, Amazon acquired a 49% stake in Future Coupons and secured certain contractual rights connected to Future Retail, the listed company that operated retail chains including Big Bazaar.
In December 2021, the CCI suspended its earlier approval granted to the transaction and imposed a Rs 202 crore penalty on Amazon. The regulator said Amazon had suppressed material information while seeking clearance for the deal, particularly regarding the strategic nature of the transaction and its interests in Future Retail.
Amazon challenged the CCI order before the NCLAT, arguing that all relevant details had been disclosed at the time of the approval process. In June 2022, the appellate tribunal upheld the CCI’s findings, following which Amazon moved the Supreme Court.
The Future-Amazon dispute became one of India’s most closely watched corporate legal battles after Future Group announced the sale of its retail assets to Reliance Retail in 2020. Amazon opposed the transaction, citing contractual rights arising from the Future Coupons agreement.
The dispute triggered parallel proceedings before Indian courts, arbitration forums and regulators. Singapore International Arbitration Centre proceedings had earlier granted interim relief to Amazon restraining the Future-Reliance deal, though the transaction eventually collapsed after lenders moved Future Retail into insolvency proceedings.
Source: Moneycontrol
