Amazon Seller Services moves against Delhi HC’s interim order

New Delhi: Amazon Seller Services Private Limited on Thursday moved against a Delhi High Court interim order, which had restrained e-commerce marketplaces such as Amazon, Flipkart and Snapdeal from advertising, displaying or offering for sale products belonging to Amway, Modicare and Oriflame without their consent.

The court, while hearing the matter, said that it would hear the appeals and the interim applications together on 17 February, 2020.

The Delhi High Court had restrained e-commerce majors like Amazon, Flipkart and Snapdeal from selling health and beauty products of direct sellers without their consent.

The interim direction by Justice Pratibha M. Singh came on the pleas of the three direct sellers alleging that products under their brands were being sold on the e-commerce platforms at cheaper rates resulting in financial losses to them.

"The minimum conduct expected of the platforms is adherence to their own policies, which they have failed to do in the present case. Thus, this court has no hesitation in holding that the continued sale of the plaintiffs' (Amway, Modicare and Oriflame) products on the e-commerce platforms, without their consent, results in inducement of breach of contract, and tortious interference with contractual relationships of the plaintiffs with their distributors," the court said in its 225-page interim order.

"Contact details are not disclosed. The consumer would find it extremely difficult to contact a seller. Consumers cannot be expected to do a fine and detailed examination to find out the actual source. The consumer is not being told that the seller is not authorised and the consumer would, literally, require investigative capabilities to trace the actual seller," the court had observed.

It directed that only those sellers who have obtained the consent of Amway, Oriflame and Modicare be allowed to sell their products on the e-commerce platforms. The court also said in its judgment that the e-commerce platforms would be required to display the complete contact details of the sellers who had obtained the consent of the plaintiffs to sell their products.

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