Amazon’s Request to Annul EUR 1.13 Billion Fine Suspended by Italian Court

An Italian courtroom has suspended a choice on a request by e-commerce large Amazon to annul a document EUR 1.13 billion (practically Rs. 9,300 crore) wonderful imposed by Italy’s antitrust watchdog for alleged abuse of market dominance, a courtroom ruling confirmed on Friday.

Italian administrative courtroom TAR del Lazio stated it had suspended judgment pending a ruling by the European Union Court of Justice over the case.

A authorized supply stated the EU courtroom may rule on the continuing case earlier than the following summer season.

Last yr, Italy’s competitors watchdog dominated that Amazon had used its dominant place within the Italian marketplace for intermediation providers on marketplaces to favour the adoption of its personal logistics service by sellers lively on Amazon.

It subsequently imposed one of many highest penalties on a US tech large in Europe.

An Amazon spokesperson reiterated that the corporate strongly disagreed with the choice of the Italian Competition Authority (ICA) and would proceed to stress its place all through the authorized proceedings.

“More than half of all annual sales on Amazon in Italy come from SMBs. We have 20,000 Italian SMBs that sell on Amazon, including sellers that manage shipment themselves, and we constantly invest to support their growth”, the spokesperson stated in a press release.

The watchdog declined to remark.

After the wonderful was imposed, Amazon stated it “strongly disagreed” with the Italian regulator’s resolution and would attraction. 

Meanwhile, the authority stated Amazon tied to using FBA entry to a set of unique advantages, together with the Prime label, that assist improve visibility and enhance gross sales on Amazon.

“Amazon prevents third-party sellers from associating the Prime label with offers not managed with FBA,” it stated.

On the opposite hand, Amazon stated FBA “is a completely optional service” and that almost all of third-party sellers on Amazon don’t use it.

“When sellers choose FBA, they do so because it is efficient, convenient and competitive in terms of price”, the US group stated in a press release.

© Thomson Reuters 2022