China’s tech giant Xiaomi has asked India’s antitrust body, the Competition Commission of India (CCI), to recall its investigation report, which found Xiaomi and Walmart’s Flipkart violated competition laws. According to two sources familiar with the situation, Xiaomi claims the report contains sensitive business information that was not properly redacted.
The recall request, if granted, could delay the CCI’s ongoing antitrust investigation, which began in 2021. The CCI had previously recalled a similar report on Apple in August after the tech company raised concerns about the inclusion of confidential commercial details.
Xiaomi’s primary concern, according to the sources, is that the report on Flipkart includes model-specific sales data, which Xiaomi considers commercially sensitive. This data, Xiaomi argues, should have been redacted before the report was shared with the parties involved in the case. Neither Xiaomi, Flipkart, nor the CCI have responded to queries regarding the matter.
The CCI typically does not release investigation reports to the public. Instead, they are shared exclusively with parties to the case. If a recall is granted, the involved parties are required to return their copies of the report, allowing the commission to review and redact sensitive information before reissuing the document.
The CCI’s report accuses e-commerce platforms Amazon and Flipkart of giving preferential treatment to select sellers and prioritizing certain product listings. The watchdog also found evidence that the platforms colluded with companies like Xiaomi to launch products exclusively on their websites. This, the commission argues, is in violation of Indian competition laws. According to a Reuters report, the investigation uncovered similar practices involving companies such as Samsung, Motorola, Vivo, Lenovo, and Realme.
Data from Counterpoint Research shows that Xiaomi and South Korea’s Samsung hold a combined market share of nearly 36% in India’s smartphone market, with Vivo controlling 19%.
While Xiaomi is concerned about the information in the Flipkart report, sources indicate the company has no issue with the data in the separate investigation concerning Amazon. In that report, investigators also concluded that Xiaomi and Amazon had breached antitrust laws through exclusive online sales arrangements.
The commission’s approach to handling Xiaomi’s recall request follows a similar course of action it took in the case of Apple, where the CCI report had alleged that the U.S. company exploited its dominant market position with regard to app stores on its iOS platform. Apple has denied any wrongdoing.
The outcome of Xiaomi’s request is still pending, but it has the potential to impact the course of the investigation and future proceedings involving e-commerce giants in India.