Govt permits 100% foreign investment in e-commerce

The government on Tuesday permitted 100% FDI in the market place format of e-commerce retailing with a view to attract more foreign investments.

As per the guidelines issued by the Department of Industrial Policy and Promotion (DIPP) on FDI in e-commerce, foreign direct investment (FDI) has not been allowed in inventory-based model of e-commerce.

At present, global e-tailer giants like Amazon and Ebay are operating online marketplaces in India while homegrown players like Flipkart and Snapdeal have foreign investments even as there were no clear FDI guidelines on various online retail models.

To bring clarity, the DIPP has also come out with the definition of 'e-commerce', 'inventory-based model' and 'market place model'. Market place model of e-commerce means providing of an IT platform by an e-commerce entity on a digital and electronic network to act as a facilitator between buyer and seller. 

The inventory-based model of e-commerce means an e-commerce activity where inventory of goods and services is owned by e-commerce entity and is sold to consumers directly, according to the guidelines.  

A market place entity will be permitted to enter into transactions with sellers registered on its platform on business-to-business basis, DIPP said. It said that an e-commerce firm, however, will not be permitted to sell more than 25% of the sales affected through its market place from one vendor or their group companies.

"In order to provide clarity to the extant policy, guidelines for FDI on e-commerce sector have been formulated," DIPP said. The government has already allowed 100% FDI in business-to-business (B2B) e-commerce.