Several restaurant and eateries have come together and filed a petition against Swiggy, Zomato and UberEats for misusing their dominant position. Here is an excerpt from the petition. Zomato: They have been offering unsustainable discounts below the cost price to customers. This is to ensure that small restaurants and eateries suffer losses and shut down. […]

Several restaurant and eateries have come together and filed a petition against Swiggy, Zomato and UberEats for misusing their dominant position.

Here is an excerpt from the petition.

Zomato: They have been offering unsustainable discounts below the cost price to customers. This is to ensure that small restaurants and eateries suffer losses and shut down. We have pasted some of their unsustainable offers below.

Plus, Zomato has started an in house company called Hyperpure. This company sells vegetables, chicken and other meat. Zomato forces the restaurants who want to list on the Zomato platform to purchase raw vegetables, chicken and other meat from this company only. This is clearly against clause 6 A of the Competition Act. Swiggy: They are unethically diverting customers to their own kitchen. They started off with food delivery platform. Now they have started their own kitchen to monopolize the market.They use the customers visiting the platform for food delivery to their own kitchen. A normal client is required to pay huge tariffs to get their products listed on the platform. However the first advertizement which is shown to an end user on log in is Swiggys in house Kitchen – The Bowl Company.

This clearly misusing customer database who visit their platform to order food to their own kitchen. There should be a clear law in India that there cannot be cross holding of a company which is into delivery of food services for clients to have a stake in any kitchen/restaurant. Uber-Eats: Uber Eats too has been found to be offering unsustainable discounts on some deserts.

And here is what these restaurant want from PMO:

Put an end to unsustainable pricing by these so called “MNCs”. Ban any cross holding between one provider and another in the same supply chain. Ex Swiggy offering food delivery to restaurants and having their own kitchen.

Zomato offering food delivery to restaurants and forcing restaurants to purchase raw items from their own sister concern. Appointing a food regulator in every province by the food and civil supplies ministry to ensure that the level playing field in never breached in the garb of cut throat competition (petition link).

What’s your take on the issue?

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