Indian trader group calls for ban on Amazon following damning report

An influential India trader group that represents tens of millions of brick-and-mortar retailers called New Delhi to ban Amazon in the country after a report claimed that the American e-commerce group had given preferential treatment to a small group of sellers in India, publicly misrepresented its ties with those sellers and used them to circumvent foreign investment rules in the country.

The Confederation of All India Traders (CAIT) on Wednesday “demanded” serious action from the Indian government against Amazon following revelations made in a Reuters story. “For years, CAIT has been maintaining that Amazon has been circumventing FDI [Foreign Direct Investment] laws of India to conduct unfair and unethical trade,” it said.

Praveen Khandelwal, secretary general of CAIT, which claims to represent 80 million retailers and 40,000 trade associations in India, said, “It’s an open and shut case that Amazon is wilfully playing with rules. What more we are waiting for. It should be banned in India with immediate effect.”

CAIT has for years expressed concerns over what they allege are unlawful business practices employed by Amazon and Walmart-owned Flipkart in the country. They say these actions are posing existential threats to small merchants.

India is a key overseas market for Amazon, which has committed to invest over $6.5 billion in its operations in the world’s second largest internet market.

In a statement, an Amazon spokesperson said the company cannot confirm the veracity or otherwise information and claims made in the Reuters story as it has not seen the documents. “The article appears to be based on unsubstantiated, incomplete, and/or factually incorrect information, likely supplied with the intention of creating sensation and discrediting Amazon,” the spokesperson said.

“Amazon remains compliant with all Indian laws. In the last several years, there have been a number of changes in regulations governing the marketplaces and Amazon has, on each occasion taken rapid action to ensure compliance. The story therefore seems to have outdated information and does not show any non-compliance. We continue to focus on delivering first class service to India’s consumers, and helping India’s manufacturers and SMB’s reach customers across India and around the world,” it added.

Longstanding laws in India have constrained Amazon and other e-commerce firms to not hold inventory or sell items directly to consumers. To bypass this, the company has operated through a maze of joint ventures with local companies that operate as inventory-holding firms. India got around to fixing this loophole in late 2018.

Citing private company documents, Reuters said that Amazon had exercised significant control over the inventory of some of the biggest sellers. The report claimed that 33 Amazon sellers accounted for about a third of the value of all goods sold on Amazon, and two sellers in which Amazon had an indirect stake accounted for around 35% of the platform’s sales revenue in early 2019.

The new report — and its potential repercussions — is just the latest headache for Amazon in India.

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