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

Italy's competition watchdog ruled that Amazon had used its dominant position in the Italian market for intermediation services on marketplaces.

By Reuters | Updated: 28 October 2022 23:10 IST

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

Amazon previously said it "strongly disagreed" with the Italian regulator's decision

Highlights

EU court might rule on the ongoing case before the next summer
The regulator imposed one of the highest fines on US tech giant in Europe
Amazon said FBA "is a completely optional service"

An Italian court has suspended a decision on a request by e-commerce giant Amazon to annul a record EUR 1.13 billion (nearly Rs. 9,300 crore) fine imposed by Italy's antitrust watchdog for alleged abuse of market dominance, a court ruling showed on Friday.

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

A legal source said the EU court might rule on the ongoing case before the next summer.

Samsung Wins Patent for a Tri-Fold Smartphone With Specialised Barrier Layer for Improved Durability

Last year, Italy's competition watchdog ruled that Amazon had used its dominant position in the Italian market for intermediation services on marketplaces to favour the adoption of its own logistics service by sellers active on Amazon.

It subsequently imposed one of the highest penalties on a US tech giant in Europe.

An Amazon spokesperson reiterated that the company strongly disagreed with the decision of the Italian Competition Authority (ICA) and would continue to emphasise its position throughout the legal proceedings.

Amazon Faces UK Lawsuit Over Allegations for Abusing Online Market Position

"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 said in a statement.

The watchdog declined to comment.

After the fine was imposed, Amazon said it "strongly disagreed" with the Italian regulator's decision and would appeal.

Meanwhile, the authority said Amazon tied to the use of FBA access to a set of exclusive benefits, including the Prime label, that help increase visibility and boost sales on Amazon.

"Amazon prevents third-party sellers from associating the Prime label with offers not managed with FBA," it said.

On the other hand, Amazon said FBA "is a completely optional service" and that the majority of third-party sellers on Amazon do not use it.

"When sellers choose FBA, they do so because it is efficient, convenient and competitive in terms of price", the US group said in a statement.

The Chromecast with Google TV that runs on Android TV is here. When will Google learn how to name products? We discuss this on Orbital, the Gadgets 360 podcast. Orbital is available on Spotify, Gaana, JioSaavn, Google Podcasts, Apple Podcasts, Amazon Music and wherever you get your podcasts.

Affiliate links may be automatically generated - see our ethics statement for details.

Comments

For the latest tech news and reviews, follow Gadgets 360 on X, Facebook, WhatsApp, Threads and Google News. For the latest videos on gadgets and tech, subscribe to our YouTube channel. If you want to know everything about top influencers, follow our in-house Who'sThat360 on Instagram and YouTube.