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The Enforcement Directorate (ED) has privately sought sales data and other documents from smartphone players including Apple and Xiaomi as part of an investigation into Amazon and Walmart-owned Flipkart, sources familiar with the matter told Reuters.
The agency’s queries come in the backdrop of India and the United States nearing a trade deal. The protectionist e-commerce regulations in India have been part of those discussions, according to one Indian official, as U.S. authorities have long called for opening up the sector.
The ED has been investigating Amazon and Flipkart for years for allegedly breaching laws by stocking and exerting control over goods they list online. Indian laws prohibit foreign e-commerce companies from doing so as the platforms can only operate a marketplace to connect buyers and sellers.
Small traders say such clandestine practices, along with steep online discounts, have disrupted businesses at mobile phone stores, but Amazon and Flipkart have maintained they comply with all Indian laws.
The directorate wrote in recent weeks to smartphone companies, including Apple and Xiaomi, to get data related to their online sales, according to three industry sources and one senior Indian government official, who all declined to be named as the investigation process is confidential.
One of the industry sources said the ED was looking at dealings between smartphone companies and Amazon and Flipkart, and had also sought any financial contracts signed by the phone makers for online sales.
Apple received the agency’s directive in March, said one of the sources.
Apple, Amazon and Flipkart did not immediately respond to a request for comment. The Enforcement Directorate also did not respond, while Xiaomi declined to comment.
Published – April 29, 2025 09:32 pm IST
