UK Grocery Regulator Probes Amazon Over Alleged Delays In Payments

(RTTNews) - UK's Groceries Code Adjudicator or GCA announced the launch of a targeted investigation against e-commerce giant Amazon.com Inc. over alleged delays in payments to its suppliers.

In a statement, the grocery regulator said the investigation is into whether Amazon has breached paragraph 5 of the Groceries Code, which indicates no delay in Payments, in relation to certain of its practices, and the root cause of any breach.

The GCA said it has reasonable grounds, based on evidence from a range of sources, to suspect that Amazon has done the breaching from March 1 2022 to June 20, 2025.

The investigation will cover the extent to which paragraph 5 of the Code may have been breached, as well as any impact of Amazon's conduct on suppliers, and the root causes of any issues.

Mainly, the investigation will focus on the nature, extent and impact of practices that may have resulted in delays in payments. These include Amazon's receipt of goods and payment processes, its processes for managing supplier concerns relating to deductions from payments, and its use of settlements of deductions in its commercial negotiations with suppliers.

The agency noted that the investigation will cover the period between Amazon's designation on March 1, 2022 and 20 June 2025 but will focus on the period since 1 January 2024, in order to have the fullest understanding of Amazon's contemporaneous practices.

Following suppliers' reporting Code issues, the Adjudicator Mark White in 2024 had told Amazon that it must take swift and comprehensive action to demonstrably comply with the Code.

The GCA then monitored actions taken by Amazon and heard further detailed evidence about experiences with Amazon. The agency decided for investigation based on this evidence.

The GCA said it has also received information about other issues at Amazon, and is continuing to engage with the firm as part of its ongoing collaborative approach. The GCA added that it expects Amazon to take action to address these issues.

The Adjudicator has called for direct suppliers and other stakeholders to respond to the GCA's call for evidence to share experiences of supplying Amazon. The call for evidence will close on August 8.

White said, "Delays in payment can significantly harm suppliers. The alleged delays could expose Amazon suppliers to excessive risk and unexpected costs, potentially affecting their ability to invest and innovate. I decided to launch this targeted investigation based on the range of evidence I have seen from multiple sources... I encourage all direct suppliers and other stakeholders to respond to my call for evidence and provide information about your experiences with Amazon. All responses will be completely confidential."