Amazon, Flipkart under Govt scanner

New Delhi: In a significant development related to war between e-commerce giants and traders of India, the Union Government has directed the Enforcement Directorate and Reserve Bank of India (RBI) to take necessary action against Amazon and Walmart-owned Flipkart.

The Centre has taken strong cognizance of various complaints made by the Confederation of All India Traders (CAIT) for blatant violation of FDI Policy and Foreign Exchange Management Act, 1999 (FEMA) by these companies.

CAIT National President BC Bhartia and Secretary General Praveen Khandelwal informed that on several complaints made by the CAIT to Union Commerce Minister Piyush Goyal in the recent past against Amazon & Walmart-owned-Flipkart, the Department of Promotion of Industries and Internal Trade (DPIIT) of the Ministry of Commerce in its letter issued on December has asked both Enforcement Directorate and Reserve Bank of India to take necessary action against Amazon and Flipkart.

Bhartia and Khandelwal said that in its communication to ED and RBI, the DPIIT has forwarded four complaints of CAIT including violation of FDI policy in deal between Flipkart and Aditya Birla Group, violation of FDI policy related to FDI in manufacturing which is being used for Multi Brand Retailing by various e-commerce companies, violation of FEMA and its rules by Amazon and blatant violation of FEMA and FDI Policy by Amazon and Flipkart and exploitation of loopholes by them.