Supreme Court Stays Notice of Recovery of Penalty of Rs. 200 Crores against Amazon

Case Details: Amazon.Com NV Investment Holdings LLC v. Competition Commission of India - [2023] 150 taxmann.com 207 (SC)

Judiciary and Counsel Details

• • Dinesh Maheshwari and Sanjay Kumar, JJ.  
  • Gopal Subramanium, Shyam Divan, Amit Sibal, Sr. Advs. Anand S. Pathak, Shashank Gautam, Ms. Sreemoyee Deb, Ms. Anubhuti Mishra, Ms. Nandini Sharma, Ms. Anisha Bothra, Ms. Nileena Thomas, Pavan Bhusan, Ms. Ujwala Uppalari, Ms. Hima Lawrence, Sudipto Sircar, Vinamra Kopariha, Advs. and Kunal Chatterji, AOR’s for the Appellant. 
  • N. Venkataraman, ASG Manu Chaturvedi, Adv. Ms. Sanjana Saddy, Ms. Hima Bhardwaj, E.C. Agrawala, Sanyat Lodha and Rajat Sehgal, AOR’s for the Respondent.

Facts of the Case

The NCLAT upheld the CCI order and directed Amazon to deposit Rs 200 crore penalty within 45 days. Further, the CCI suspended the 2019 deal, citing Amazon’s failure to disclose its strategic interest in Future Retail Limited.

Later, Amazon moved before the Supreme Court assailing the NCLAT’s order. The NCLAT rejected Amazon’s plea challenging the CCI’s decision to keep the approval granted to the e-commerce giant’s deal with Future Coupons in abeyance.

Supreme Court Held

The Supreme Court issued a stay order on the 200 crore penalty imposed by the Competition Commission of India (CCI) on Amazon in relation to the Amazon-Future Group deal case.

Further, in view of the matter being pending in the Supreme Court, no coercive steps shall be taken in relation to notice of recovery of Rs. 200 crores penalty against Amazon until the next date of hearing.