The Supreme Court has granted a stay on the Rs 202-crore penalty imposed on Amazon.Com NV Holdings llc by the Competition Commission of India (CCI). The recovery of the penalty should not be undertaken until the next date of hearing, the apex court said.

The top court said that no coercive steps shall be taken against Amazon till July 7, the next date of hearing.

Amazon had mentioned the matter before the apex court on Monday since the CCI had issued a recovery notice on April 25.

“Taking note of the totality of the circumstances of this case, it is considered appropriate and hence provided that no coercive steps shall be taken in relation to the notice dated 25.04.2023 against the appellant until the next date in this case i.e., 17.07.2023,” a bench of Justice Dinesh Maheshwari and Justice Sanjay Kumar had said in an order dated May 8. The order was made public on Wednesday.

The top court had passed the restraint order on the CCI after briefly hearing senior advocates — Gopal Subramanium and Shyam Divan appearing for Amazon — and additional solicitor general N. Venkatraman appearing for the regulatory authority.

In December 2021, the CCI had suspended an earlier Future Coupons PrivateLimited-Amazon deal in which the latter had acquired a 49 per cent stake as being contrary to the provisions of the CCI Act.

Amazon was fined Rs 202 crore as penalty for alleged suppression of various information while seeking regulatory approval. The CCI had acted on a complaint by the Future Group.

The Kishore Biyani-controlled group said the e-commerce company reported inconsistencies in the pleadings and documents submitted before the Singapore Arbitral Tribunal, the Supreme Court and the Delhi High Court.

The National Company Law Appellate Tribunal had refused to grant any interim relief to Amazon.

After the CCI started fresh proceedings last month on April 25, Amazon rushed to the top court seeking a stay.