The National Company Law Appellate Tribunal (NCLAT) dismissed the appeal filed by the Confederation of All India Traders (CAIT) against the order of the Competition Commission of India (CCI) which sanctioned Walmart’s acquisition of Flipkart.
On August 8, 2018, Walmart announced that it has completed a deal with Flipkart and holds a 77 percent stake in the Indian e-commerce major. The deal size was USD 16 billion.
The Competition Commission of India (CCI) approved US retail giant Walmart’s acquisition of Flipkart.
As a consequence, the Confederation of All India Traders (CAIT) had filed a petition in National Company Law Appellate Tribunal (NCLAT) asking for the reversal of the Walmart-Flipkart deal. Orders passed by the Competition Commission of India (CCI) can be challenged before the National Company Law Appellate Tribunal (NCLAT).
The National Company Law Appellate Tribunal (NCLAT) ordered Walmart International Holdings Inc. to file the written reply, wherein it must mention the way of conducting business in India. And at the same time Confederation of All India Traders (CAIT) were asked to file its understanding of the business model of Walmart in India.
The Confederation of All India Traders (CAIT) also contended that in past years Flipkart and Walmart have undertaken predatory activities to gain maximum profits.
The two-member bench of the National Company Law Appellate Tribunal (NCLAT) comprising of Justice S J Mukhopadhaya and Justice Bansi Lal dismissed the appeal filed by Confederation of All India Traders (CAIT) against the order of Competition Commission of India (CCI) which sanctioned Walmart’s acquisition of Flipkart. As the Confederation of All India Traders (CAIT) failed to establish the allegation against the Flipkart.
The appellate tribunal observed that the allegations were leveled against Flipkart but it was not impleaded as a party to the appeal and so there is no finding against it.
