India tightens e-commerce rules, likely to hit Amazon, Flipkart
- Platforms will not be able to sell products from affiliated companies
- New rules will appease small traders and farmers who fear that US firms are making a back door entry into India’s retail market
India will ban e-commerce companies such as Amazon.com and Walmart -owned Flipkart Group from selling products from companies in which they have an equity interest.
In a statement, the government also said that the companies will be prevented from entering into exclusive agreements with sellers. The new rules will be applicable from February 1.
“An entity having equity participation by e-commerce marketplace entity or its group companies, or having control on its inventory by e-commerce marketplace entity or its group companies, will not be permitted to sell its products on the platform run by such marketplace entity,” the commerce ministry said in a statement.
E-commerce companies can make bulk purchases through their wholesale units or other group companies that in turn sell the products to select sellers, such as their affiliates or other companies with which they have agreements.
Those sellers can then sell the products to other companies or direct to consumers, often at attractively low prices.
The new regulations follow complaints from Indian retailers and traders, who say the giant e-commerce companies are using their control over inventory from their affiliates, and through exclusive sales agreements, to create an unfair marketplace that allows them to sell some products at very low prices.