In response to a written petition filed by the Confederation of All India Traders (CAIT) that advocates small traders and businesses in India, the High Court of the state of Rajasthan on Tuesday issued notices to Amazon and Flipkart for engaging in deep discounting, predatory pricing, loss funding and inventory controlling here.
In its petition, the CAIT highlighted that these e-commerce giants have repeatedly indulged in practices that converted their marketplaces into inventory-based models, in clear violation of the country's FDI policy.
Represented by its counsels Rajvendra Saraswat and Abir Roy, the CAIT also pleaded that by offering deep discounts, these e-commerce companies influenced retail prices, which is similarly prohibited under the FDI policy.
Furthermore, the petition highlighted that despite several complaints to the concerned authorities, no tough measures had been taken against these online shopping websites as of yet.
Neither Amazon India nor Flipkart have officially addressed the subject so far.
The next date for a hearing on the subject has been scheduled for 15 October; prior to that date, the e-commerce players have to submit an official reply to the notice.
Earlier in June, Piyush Goyal, India’s Minister of Commerce and Trade said that the government was committed to protecting small traders from the predatory behaviour of foreign-funded companies.