Trade groups urge for stricter rules for foreign e-commerce companies

Various trade bodies and groups representing small retailers have urged the government to introduce stricter laws for foreign e-commerce companies and that alleged malpractices of such platforms be probed.

Indian Sellers Collective, which includes organisations like AIOVA (All India Online Vendors Association), All India Mobile Retailers Association (AIMRA), and PRAHAR (Public Response Against Helplessness and Action for Redressal) organised 'Asmbhav' Summit to flag its concerns.

AICPD (All India Consumer Products Distributors Federation), FAIDA (Federation of All India Distributors Associations), and FMCG Distributors and Traders Association, Delhi are also part of the Indian Sellers Collective.

Representatives from these industry associations, legal experts and small retailers participating in the event were of the view that foreign e-commerce companies are misleading the government by showing a large number of sellers on their platforms.

They argued that in reality, only five to six sellers account for 95 per cent revenue from their platforms.

They also alleged that foreign e-commerce retailers misuse the data and sales trends related information of small sellers to gain insights into consumer behaviour and then use either their preferred entities for sales leads or launch private labels to serve these identified customers.