India queries Apple, Xiaomi in e-commerce probe of Amazon, Flipkart, sources say

Aditya Kalra

Tue, Apr 29, 2025, 1:56 AM 3 min read

By Aditya Kalra

NEW DELHI (Reuters) -India's fiscal transgression bureau has privately sought income information and different documents from smartphone players including Apple and Xiaomi arsenic portion of an probe into Amazon and Walmart-owned Flipkart, sources acquainted with the substance told Reuters.

The agency's queries travel successful the backdrop of India and the United States nearing a commercialized deal. The protectionist e-commerce regulations successful India person been portion of those discussions, according to 1 Indian official, arsenic U.S. authorities person agelong called for opening up the sector.

India's Enforcement Directorate agency, which probes economical crimes, has been investigating Amazon and Flipkart for years for allegedly breaching laws by stocking and exerting power implicit goods they database online. Indian laws prohibit overseas e-commerce companies from doing truthful arsenic the platforms tin lone run a marketplace to link buyers and sellers.

India's tiny traders accidental specified clandestine practices, on with steep online discounts, person disrupted businesses astatine mobile telephone stores, but Amazon and Flipkart person maintained they comply with each Indian laws.

The directorate wrote successful caller weeks to smartphone companies, including Apple and Xiaomi, to get information related to their online sales, according to 3 manufacture sources and 1 elder Indian authorities official, who each declined to beryllium named arsenic the probe process is confidential.

One of the manufacture sources said the Enforcement Directorate was looking astatine dealings betwixt smartphone companies and Amazon and Flipkart, and had besides sought immoderate fiscal contracts signed by the telephone makers for online sales.

Apple received the agency's directive successful March, said 1 of the sources.

Apple, Amazon and Flipkart did not instantly respond to a petition for comment. The Enforcement Directorate besides did not respond, portion Xiaomi declined to comment.

India's e-retail marketplace is acceptable to transcend $160 cardinal by 2028, up from $57-60 cardinal successful 2023, consultancy steadfast Bain estimates.

The authorities authoritative said the smartphone companies had been approached by the directorate lone to question accusation and it was improbable they volition beryllium accused successful the case, though "the probe is going."

"Eventually if there's wrongdoing, determination volition beryllium monetary penalties (on e-commerce companies)," said the official.

Last year, a abstracted Indian antitrust probe concluded Amazon and Flipkart breached antitrust laws by giving penchant to prime sellers connected their platforms, and besides colluded with Samsung, Xiaomi and different smartphone companies to exclusively motorboat products online.