Two trade unions in India have urged the country’s government to create a regulatory body for e-commerce.
The Confederation of All India Traders (CAIT) and the Retailers Association of India (RAI) made the request during a meeting with the Department for Promotion of Industry and Internal Trade (DPIIT).
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Representatives from the All India Consumer Products Distributors Federation (AICPDF) also attended the meeting, which was chaired by DPIIT Secretary Guruprasad Mohapatra.
CAIT has written to Union Commerce Minister Piyush Goyal to rethink foreign direct investment (FDI) in e-commerce.
The union highlighted the need for a new Press Note to replace Press Note Number Two of the FDI Policy 2016/2018, which is intended to protect India’s small businesses.
The current policy fully allows FDI in marketplace e-commerce platforms as well as banning FDI in inventory-based e-commerce models.
In its letter to Goyal, CAIT said that companies such as Amazon and Flipkart were ‘destroying India’s retail sector’ by not complying with the Press Note.
It said: “It is nothing less than a daylight robbery where expressive prohibitions of Press Note Number Two are being grossly and blatantly violated by such foreign entities. These companies wish to control and dominate not only the e-commerce business but also the retail trade of India in a very clandestine manner.”
