CCI Investigation Into Zomato and Swiggy: What the Probe Found

What the investigation found

The Tribune, carrying a PTI report, described a significant regulatory finding. The restaurant industry body NRAI (National Restaurant Association of India) had taken a complaint about Zomato and Swiggy to the Competition Commission of India, or CCI. The resulting investigation concluded that the two platforms had used unfair business practices. One of them, it was alleged, was giving certain restaurant partners preferential treatment.

How long it took, and where the case stands

The probe was ordered by CCI in April 2022 in response to NRAI's complaint. The investigation report went to the regulator earlier in 2024, and The Tribune's report appeared in November 2024, roughly two and a half years after the probe was ordered.

Under CCI's procedure, the report is first shared with the parties involved, hearings are then held, and only after that is a final order issued. What was reported is therefore the conclusion of an investigation, not yet a binding CCI order with remedies attached.

Why CCI was worried about preferential treatment

CCI's April 2022 order explained why it wanted a closer look. It said there was, prima facie, a conflict of interest that called for detailed scrutiny, because the platforms might have reasons to favour private brands or entities over the restaurant partners competing against them on the same app.

Put simply, the worry is that a platform with an equity or revenue stake in some brands could use its say over rider allocation and search ranking to push those brands ahead of independent restaurants. The order said the platforms' control reaches "different aspects that influence competition", so the concern was not limited to commission.

Price parity clauses

The order also singled out price parity clauses in the platforms' agreements with restaurants, saying they appeared to impose "wide restrictions". Under these terms, a restaurant partner could not:

• Charge less on its own direct channels, such as its website, than the price shown on the platform
• Give bigger discounts on those direct channels than the platform displays
• Price lower or discount more on a rival delivery app

In practice, neither a restaurant's own ordering channel nor a competing app could be used to offer customers a cheaper price than the one on Zomato or Swiggy.

What NRAI and Swiggy did next

NRAI said it had reviewed a redacted version of the report, which was sent to it in March 2024. In November 2024 it asked the Delhi High Court for access to the complete report, arguing that it needed the whole document to protect market interests properly. NRAI president Sagar Daryani also said he hoped CCI would pick up the pace on the remaining points from NRAI's 2022 petition, which suggests this finding covers only part of what the association complained about.

Swiggy listed the CCI case as a disclosure in its IPO's Red Herring Prospectus; the IPO closed during the same week The Tribune's report appeared. Neither platform gave a comment for the story: each either declined or did not reply to queries.

What this means for your restaurant

• Read your platform agreement for price parity terms that stop you charging less or discounting more on your own channels or on other apps; CCI's order said such clauses appeared to impose wide restrictions.
• Keep a record of changes in your search ranking and rider allocation, since these are areas where the platforms' control could affect how restaurants compete.
• Treat the finding as a stage in the case rather than its outcome: hearings and a final CCI order were still pending, so no remedies had been set.

Sources

1. Competition commission probe finds Zomato, Swiggy violating competition norms — The Tribune

This article summarises the reporting and guides listed above; the figures belong to those sources and are attributed in the text. Check anything that affects your business against your own platform agreements, payout statements and advisers.