New Delhi: Food delivery company Zomato on Tuesday said that it intends to “immediately comply” with the recommendations of the Competition Commission of India (CCI), a day after the antitrust watchdog took a stand against alleged anti-competitive practices by Zomato and its rival. An inquiry was ordered against him. Swiggy.
“In its order, the Hon’ble Commission has mentioned that it has not received any concern with respect to our independence on prima facie levy of commission or alleged bundling of services, while it seeks to examine aspects like preferential list of restaurant partners and so on. Pricing parity across platforms, etc,” Zomato said in a regulatory filing.
The order to probe the alleged misconduct comes in the backdrop of complaints made by the National Restaurant Association of India (NRAI), which had welcomed the CCI’s move.
“In the absence of a permanent solution, NRAI filed an information with the Competition Commission of India (CCI) on July 1, 2021, highlighting the concerns and issues relating to the functioning of food aggregator platforms, which ideally have a neutral market place. operate as it should,” NRAI said in a statement. “NRAI looks forward to a positive outcome of this investigation which will pave the way for providing a level playing field to all stakeholders in the ecosystem.”
In its complaints, NRAI accused Swiggy and Zomato of hiding consumer data apart from charging exorbitant commissions from restaurant partners. In addition, it was alleged that the two players, with a combined market share of 95%, indulged in deep discounting, using their own cloud kitchens to churn out “private labels” and sell favorite restaurants and brands on their platforms. Use biased listings for promotion.
Both Swiggy and Zomato had earlier denied most of the allegations, showed a 32-page CCI order, which was reviewed by TOI.
Zomato said, “We will continue to work closely with the Hon’ble Commission to assist them in their investigation and explain to the regulator why all our practices are in compliance with competition laws and do not adversely affect competition in India.” ” on Tuesday.
The anti-competitive investigation against the food delivery giant comes after a furious social media backlash against the company’s intent to deliver food in 10 minutes.