Traders to protest against Walmart-Flipkart deal on July 2

Traders' body CAIT today said it will hold protests at 1,000 places across the country on July 2 against US retail giant Walmart's proposed acquisition of 77 per cent stake in home-grown retailer Flipkart in a USD 16 billion deal. The Confederation of All India Traders (CAIT) took the decision today at its two-day National Governing Council meeting at Ahmedabad.

The traders' body passed a resolution at the conference asking the government to reject the deal. It demanded formulation of an e-commerce policy and setting up of a Regulatory Authority for the country's e-commerce sector.

In a statement, CAIT Secretary General Praveen Khandelwal said: "This time we shall be pursuing the matter with both ED (Enforcement Directorate) and Reserve Bank of India so that e-commerce companies including Flipkart and its new owner Walmart should not escape from the liability of mal-practices, predatory pricing and deep discounting."

CAIT claimed that "e-commerce platforms are grossly and openly flouting Press Note 3 of FDI Policy issued on March 29, 2016".

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The commerce and industry ministry notifies FDI policies through press notes. Press Note 3, which was released in 2016, enlists guidelines for foreign direct investment in e-commerce sector. It also articulated that no discounting is allowed and that no inventory ownership directly or indirectly is allowed by e-commerce marketplaces.