Are Amazon, Flipkart and Snapdeal flouting FDI norms?

The Confederation of All India Traders (CAIT) has filed a complaint with Department of Industrial Policy and Promotion (DIPP) alleging that major e-tailers Amazon, Flipkart and Snapdeal are blatantly violating FDI norms.

When contacted, Snapdeal declined to comment and Amazon and Flipkart did not respond to e-mail queries.

CAIT said that during the last three days, these companies have given big advertisements in the media, announcing sales on their platform, which is a violation of FDI guidelines on e-commerce.

These companies are allowed to do B2B business but they are doing B2C for which they are not authorised, it said. CAIT has sought an appointment with the Commerce and Industry Minister Nirmala Sithraman.

It asked the ministry to "take immediate action against these companies which are habitual in contravening the policy".

In March, the government allowed 100% FDI through automatic route in the marketplace format of e-commerce retailing.

As per the guidelines issued by the DIPP on FDI in e-commerce, Foreign Direct Investment has not been permitted in inventory-based model of e-commerce.