NEW DELHI: An investigation by Competition Commission of India found food delivery giants Zomato and Swiggy breached antitrust laws, with their business practices favouring select restaurants listed on their platforms, documents show.
Zomato entered into “exclusivity contracts” with partners in return for lower commissions, while Swiggy guaranteed business growth to certain players if they listed exclusively on its platform, according to non-public documents prepared by CCI.
Exclusivity arrangements between Swiggy, Zomato and their restaurant partners “prevent the market from becoming more competitive,” the antitrust body’s investigation arm noted in its findings reviewed by Reuters on Friday.
The antitrust investigation against Swiggy and its top rival Zomato began in 2022 after a complaint by National Restaurant Association of India about the impact on food outlets of alleged anti-competitive practices of the platforms.
The CCI documents are not public, in line with its confidentiality rules, and were shared with Swiggy, Zomato and the complainant restaurant group in March 2024. Their findings have not been previously reported.
Zomato declined to comment, while Swiggy and the CCI did not respond to Reuters queries. Shares in Zomato fell 3% after the Reuters report, from being flat in earlier trade.
The next, and final phase, of the CCI case is a decision by the CCI leadership which is still reviewing the investigation findings.