India’s e-commerce giants are facing huge backlash ahead of the festive season sale. From mobile retailers’ associations to traders’ bodies, several independent organisations have urged the Centre to halt the ‘sale and discount’ as it affects the businesses of small retailers.
Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) MP and Secretary General Emeritus of Confederation of All India Thanjiraders (CAIT), Praveen Khandelwal has urged the government to introduce stricter e-commerce regulations and policies to prevent future breaches.
Khandelwal has vowed that he would speak with Union Commerce Minister Piyush Goyal on the alleged ‘malpractices’ by e-commerce firms. He said discount practices distort fair competition and asked the Centre to take urgent action stating that these tactics could erode the vision of ‘Atmanirbhar Bharat’.
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All India Mobile Retailers Association (AIMRA) has backed Khandelwal saying that ‘exclusive deals’ with Original Equipment Manufacturers (OEMs), preferred sellers and preferred listings favours large corporations and threaten the livelihood of medium and small retailers onboarded onto these platforms.
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CAIT National President BC Bhartia has also argued that foreign-funded e-commerce platforms have been undermining India’s retail market for years through predatory pricing and anti-competitive practices. According to recent media reports, the Competitive Commission of India (CCI) has highlighted several violations by both Amazon and Flipkart such as deep discounting, exclusive seller agreements, preferential treatment to select sellers, and predatory pricing across all product lines.
The Amazon Great Indian Festival sale and Flipkart’s Big Billion Days will commence on 27 September.