CAIT moves DIPP against e-comm biggies

New Delhi, Aug 10: Accusing Amazon, Flipkart and Snapdeal of violation of the FDI policy for e-commerce, which was announced on March 29, 2016, by the Department of Industrial Promotion and Policy (DIPP), the Confederation of All-India Traders (CAIT) filed a complaint with DIPP on Wednesday, calling for action against these companies.

CAIT said in a release that under the FDI policy, these companies cannot undertake retail trading activities, but they are still circumventing the law and engaging in B2C activities.

In its complaint sent to the DIPP secretary, CAIT has demanded that not only should these companies be restricted from conducting such sales, but their operations also suspended.

CAIT further said under the FDI policy guidelines issued on March 29, e-commerce portals receiving FDI can conduct activities for B2B business, but will not be allowed to conduct B2C business. Therefore, the advertisements issued by them in the past few days amount to soliciting retail customers, influencing the prices and creating an uneven playing field.

These companies claim to be a marketplace and therefore can provide only a technology platform for the sellers who are registered with them, according to CAIT.

“Since ownership of inventory is not held by the said companies, they cannot offer ‘sales’ or ‘discounts’ in totality on their online portals, but they are doing so which also establishes that they are not marketplace and as such openly flouting the FDI policy,” the release concluded.

In its complaint sent to the DIPP secretary, CAIT has demanded that not only should these companies be restricted from conducting such sales, but their operations also suspended