HIGHLIGHTS
- The Competition Commission of India is the country's leading antitrust authority.
- The NRAI has requested that CCI examine Zomato and Swiggy.
- The NRAI represents around 5 lakh restaurants in India.
The Competition Commission of India (CCI) has launched a probe into food delivery businesses Zomato and Swiggy for using "neutral" platforms in their applications, the antitrust watchdog said on Monday.
The ruling comes months after the National Restaurant Association of India (NRAI) requested that the CCI probe the firms for violating platform neutrality by giving preference to exclusive contractors.
"In the present case, a conflict of interest scenario has formed, both with regard to Swiggy and Zomato... which may prevent them from serving as impartial platforms," the CCI said in its order.
The NRAI, which represents over 5 lakh eateries in India, also said Zomato and Swiggy were exploiting customer data, charging outrageous fees, and offering enormous discounts.
"The Commission observes that it has previously found value in studying the problem of platform neutrality," the CCI stated, adding that it did not see validity in complaints of late payments, "one-sided terms," and "exorbitant commissions, etc." being connected to competition. Swiggy and Zomato did not reply quickly to requests for comment.
