Foreign e-commerce players circumventing rules to capture Indian market: CAIT

Foreign e-commerce players like Amazon and Walmart-owned Flipkart are circumventing rules and laws in their relentless pursuit of capturing the Indian market, often resorting to unethical business practices, Praveen Khandelwal, Secretary General, Confederation of All India Traders (CAIT) and a BJP candidate for Lok Sabha, said on Saturday.

Reacting to a TV media report that the Competition Commission of India (CCI) has found alleged irregularities in its probe against e-commerce companies like Amazon and Flipkart and their links with mobile manufacturers, Khandelwal told IANS that this “nexus” between e-commerce giants and mobile companies “undermines the country's broader interests."

Amazon or Flipkart did not immediately comment on the report.

“For years, we have been highlighting the persistent problem of foreign e-commerce companies circumventing rules and laws in their relentless pursuit of capturing the Indian market, often resorting to unethical business practices,” said Khandelwal, BJP candidate from Chandni Chowk Lok Sabha constituency in the Capital.

He said that this "intricate web” involves collaboration between e-commerce giants and mobile companies, which undermines the country's broader interests and “threatens the livelihoods of small traders."

In February this year, the retail traders' body had written to the CCI, seeking urgent steps in the Delhi Vyapar Mahasangh case involving the anti-competitive practices of Amazon and Flipkart.

In a letter to the CCI Chairperson Ravneet Kaur, the CAIT said the market regulator “must attach utmost priority to the case and pass final penalty order and direction to Flipkart and Amazon to stop their illegal activities, as the outcome of the case has a serious bearing on the survival of lakhs of retailers and their families."

“These foreign entities have indulged in monopolisation of sales of mobile phones through exclusive launch,” the CAIT letter had alleged.

Khandelwal told IANS that it is imperative that decisive action be taken against these companies now.

“Once the general elections are concluded and if elected as an MP, I am committed to advocating for addressing this issue,” he added.