The Regional Administrative Court of Lazio, Italy, has significantly reduced the fine imposed on Amazon by the Competition and Market Authority, lowering the original amount of over 1.1 billion euros to approximately 750 million. The decision, contained in a September 2025 ruling, does not dismiss the charges of abuse of dominant position, which were fully confirmed, but questions the methodology used by the Authority to calculate the penalty, particularly the discretionary 50 per cent increase justified by the group's global dimensions.
The case began in 2019, when the Authority initiated proceedings against Amazon alleging unfair self-favouring practices in the Italian e-commerce market. At the centre of the investigation was the Fulfillment by Amazon service, which offers complete logistics to third-party sellers. According to the Authority, using this service guaranteed exclusive advantages on the Amazon.it platform, unlawfully conditioning access to visibility and sales opportunities. The investigation highlighted how sellers who joined FBA could access the Prime programme, participate in major sales events such as Black Friday and Prime Day, more easily obtain the Buy Box and were not subject to performance evaluations as stringent as those imposed on other operators.
In November 2021, the Authority concluded its investigation by imposing on Amazon one of the highest penalties ever imposed in Europe on a US technology giant. The abuse of dominant position was framed under Article 102 of the Treaty on the Functioning of the European Union. In addition to the financial penalty, the Authority imposed a series of obligations on Amazon, aimed at ensuring fair conditions for all third-party sellers, regardless of their use of the internal logistics service, and preventing the company from negotiating rates on behalf of its clients with competing operators.
Amazon appealed, challenging the decision on multiple fronts: from the Authority's lack of jurisdiction to the alleged tardiness of the investigation, up to the disproportionality of the penalty. The company argued that the preferential treatment was justified by the greater efficiency of the FBA service, which would have favoured the development of e-commerce in Italy. In March 2022, the Administrative Court provisionally suspended the behavioural obligations, whilst confirming the effectiveness of the fine. This was an interim decision that signalled both the complexity of the issues and the seriousness of the disputed conduct.
Three years later, with the final ruling, the judges confirmed the validity of the AGCM investigation, reiterating that Amazon's conduct constituted a "very serious" abuse with exclusionary effects both for competitors in the logistics sector and for other marketplaces. However, the court rejected the 50 per cent increase applied by the Authority, deeming the justification insufficient. Hence the redetermination of the amount, which falls to approximately 750 million euros.
