Samsung has filed a legal challenge against India’s competition watchdog, the Competition Commission of India (CCI), over alleged unlawful actions during a raid related to an antitrust investigation involving Amazon and Walmart’s Flipkart. The South Korean tech giant has claimed that CCI officials unlawfully detained its employees and seized data during the raid, as detailed in a court filing submitted on October 11 in the High Court of Chandigarh.
The CCI’s investigation, which concluded in August, accused Samsung and other smartphone companies of violating antitrust laws by colluding with Amazon and Flipkart to launch products exclusively online. Samsung’s filing seeks to invalidate the investigation’s findings regarding the company’s conduct, citing the illegal seizure of materials from its employees during a raid at one of Amazon’s vendors in 2022.
According to Samsung’s filing, three of its employees were present during the raid when CCI officials detained them, confiscated their phones, and copied confidential data. The filing, spanning 32 pages and not publicly available, asserts that the search was carried out unlawfully and calls for the return of any collected materials that should not be relied upon.
Samsung’s Indian arm, Samsung Electronics, stated, “The entire search exercise undertaken… is patently illegal, and any material collected thereunder should not be relied upon and should be promptly returned.” The company further demanded that the CCI be prohibited from using unlawfully obtained data and information.
The legal battle has resulted in Samsung securing an injunction from the High Court, temporarily halting the CCI proceedings. However, the court has yet to rule on Samsung’s requests to have the seized data returned and to prevent the commission from utilizing it in its investigation. The CCI has challenged Samsung and 22 other parties who have obtained similar injunctions from various high courts across India, urging the Supreme Court to consolidate the challenges and proceed with the investigations.
The CCI’s initial investigation found that both Amazon and Flipkart had violated competition laws by showing favoritism towards certain sellers on their platforms. While the e-commerce giants have consistently denied any wrongdoing, traditional brick-and-mortar retailers have continued to raise concerns about their pricing strategies and other practices.
Samsung’s court filing disputes the allegations of collusion with Amazon and Flipkart, emphasizing that it had cooperated with the CCI as a third-party providing information in the case. The inclusion of smartphone manufacturers in the antitrust probe against Amazon and Flipkart could potentially lead to further legal complications for companies like Samsung.
Highlighting the significance of Samsung in India’s smartphone market, research by Counterpoint Research indicates that Samsung holds a 14% market share, making it one of the largest players in the country. Additionally, Datum Intelligence estimates that online sales accounted for 50% of phone sales last year, a significant increase from 14.5% in 2013.
As the legal battle between Samsung and the CCI unfolds, the outcome of the court’s decision regarding the seized data and the future of the antitrust investigation
