Trade forums raise policy violation issue ahead of festive sale

Hours before online marketplace biggies Amazon, Flipkart and Snapdeal clash during the big-bang festive season sale, questions on whether these companies are violating foreign direct investment (FDI) norms for e-commerce, issued in March, are being raised again.

Industry experts said these companies have tweaked the way they work and were now adhering to the norms set by the government around not influencing pricing.

Also, industry insiders said the Enforcement Directorate (ED) has already taken details from these companies and have not found any evidence of malpractice till now.

Retailer and trader associations are, however, in a wait-and-watch mode, and are planning to observe every move made by these online marketplaces before taking any action.

Associations, such as the Confederation of All India Traders (CAIT), are planning to lodge a protest with the commerce as well as consumer affairs ministries and may even approach Finance Minister Arun Jaitley. In August, before online marketplaces had organised their sales centred around Independence Day, CAIT had filed a complaint with Department of Industrial Promotion and Policy (DIPP). The body has demanded these companies should be restricted from conducting such sales and also sought closure of such portals over violation of the FDI policy.