NCLAT issues notices to CCI, Future Coupons over Amazon’s plea

The National Company Law Appellate Tribunal (NCLAT) issued notices to Competition Commission of India (CCI) and Future Coupons Pvt Ltd (FCPL) over a petition filed by Amazon, challenging a recent order by CCI. The regulator had suspended the over-two-year-old approval for Amazon with Future. NCLAT has asked CCI and FCPL to file their reply in the next 10 days.

The matter will be taken up on February 2 for the next hearing.

The two-member bench comprising Justices M Venugopal and V P Singh has also asked Amazon to file a convenient compilation of the voluminous petition. Other parties have also been asked to file a brief note of submissions.

The bench said that the pleas should be complete before it takes any decision to stay the Rs 202-crore penalty on Amazon.

CCI had suspended the 2019 approval for Amazon’s deal with Future to pick a 49 per cent stake in Future Coupons. It also slapped a penalty of Rs 202 crore on Amazon. CCI stated that Amazon had suppressed information while seeking clearances for the transaction back then.

Amazon and Future have been locked in a bitter legal tussle following the latter’s deal with Reliance Retail. Amazon argued that it had the right of first refusal which was part of the Future Coupons deal, and that Future violated that contract through its Rs 24,713 crore deal with RIL.

Future, meanwhile, equipped with the CCI order, approached the Singapore arbitration court to stay the proceedings. However, SIAC had rejected the plea. Following it, Future group had approached the Delhi High Court, where a division bench on January 5, stayed proceedings scheduled on January 5-8 at SIAC.

Also read: Future Coupons deal: NCLAT to hear Amazon's plea against CCI order tomorrow
Also read: Amazon challenges CCIs's antitrust suspension of 2019 Future deal: Report