The order comes months after the National
Restaurant Association of India (NRAI) asked the CCI to investigate the
companies for breaching platform neutrality by providing priority to exclusive
contractors.
"A conflict of interest situation has
arisen in the present case, both with regard to Swiggy as well as Zomato ...
which may come in the way of them acting as neutral platforms," the CCI
said in an order.
The NRAI, which represents more than 5 lakh
restaurants across India, also alleged Zomato and Swiggy were misusing consumer
data, charged exorbitant commissions, and provided massive discounting.
"The Commission observes that it has
already found merit in investigating the issue pertaining to platform
neutrality," the CCI said, but added that it did not see merits in
allegations of delayed payments, "one-sided clauses" and
"exorbitant commission etc" being linked to competition.
Swiggy and Zomato did not immediately
respond to emails seeking comment. © Reuters