DPIIT urges ED, RBI to act against FDI violations by Flipkart, Amazon

The Department for Promotion of Industry and Internal Trade (DPIIT) has urged the Enforcement Directorate (ED) and the Reserve Bank of India (RBI) to take necessary action on allegations of malpractices made by traders’ body Confederation of All India Traders against e-commerce firms Flipkart and Amazon. CAIT has accused Flipkart of violating FDI policies related to its deal with Aditya Birla Group; It has accused Amazon of violating Foreign Exchange Management Act (FEMA) rules.

Praveen Khandelwal, Secretary General, CAIT, said, the traders’ body will make efforts in 2021 to clean up the e-commerce landscape of the country and end an era of manipulations, malpractices and exploitation. It will promote and encourage traders across the country to adopt digital commerce and digital payments as new instruments to widen business in India.

Amazon and Flipkart were issued notices in October by the Consumer Affairs Ministry for not displaying the mandatory declarations, including ‘country of origin’ which digital platforms ought to follow as prescribed under the Legal Metrology (Packaged Commodities) Rules, 2011. They were asked to furnish details about the sellers and necessary incorporation documents along with names and residential addresses of persons responsible for the conduct including the respective police jurisdiction under which they reside.