The National Company Law Appellate Tribunal (NCLAT) refrained from granting interim relief to US e-tailer Amazon in its plea challenging a Competition Commission of India (CCI) order that temporarily suspended the approval for its purchase of 49% stake in Future Coupons (FCPL), an unlisted Future Group company.
Amazon has hinged its legal battle on the FCPL investment to block Future Group’s sale of assets to Reliance Retail for £2.5 billion. Amazon had approached NCLAT on January 8 to challenge the CCI order after a division bench of the Delhi high court stayed ongoing arbitration proceedings before a Singapore tribunal.
In December, CCI put its nod for the Amazon-FCPL deal in abeyance after it found that the e-tailer suppressed facts, while seeking the approval. The antitrust watchdog also slapped a £20.2 million penalty on Amazon. The NCLAT, however, has agreed to hear Amazon’s appeal and issued notices to CCI and the FCPL to file their replies in 10 days. While keeping the next date of the hearing on February 2, the appellate tribunal directed Amazon to file a rejoinder over it. The Seattle-headquartered e-tailer has also filed a petition in the Supreme Court seeking to quash the January 5 order by the division bench of the Delhi High Court.
