Government taking measures to address concerns of small traders: Piyush Goyal

12th August 2021, Mumbai:

Piyush Goyal, Union Commerce Minister, has assured the government is taking measures to address concerns regarding the impact of big e-commerce players on small offline traders.

The minister made this statement a day after the Supreme Court declined to entertain a plea by e-commerce giants Amazon and Flipkart, saying they must face an inquiry by Competition Commission of India (CCI) for anti-competitive practices.

A bench headed by Chief Justice NV Ramana and comprising Justices Vineet Saran and Surya Kant declined to interfere with the orders of the Karnataka High Court, which refused to interfere with the preliminary enquiry ordered by the CCI into their alleged anti-competitive practices.

The e-commerce companies had moved the apex court challenging the Karnataka High Court's July 23 order. Amazon had moved the High Court against a CCI order which had called for a Director General level investigation into allegations of anti-competitive conduct in the online sale of smartphones on its platform.

The Delhi Vyapar Mahasangh (DVM), the informant before the CCI, had alleged predatory pricing, deep discounting, preferential seller listing, and exclusive partnerships, among others, against Amazon and Flipkart.

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• Government taking measures to address concerns of small traders: Piyush Goyal