Government to not impose any regulation
on e-tailers, unless consumer interests are compromised
With the festive
season upon us, every online retailer is offering massive discounts. We all
know how the Flipkart
Big Billion Day fared, but there haven’t been any major issues post it.
Amazon’s Diwali Dhamaka week, offered discounts but they weren’t as high as the
Flipkart sale. Other retailers such as Snapdeal, Myntra and so on are also
offering deals throughout the Diwali period.
While these massive
discounts are certainly angering
big brands, consumers can rest assured that there will be no
regulations imposed on online retailers as far as the government is concerned,
according to a report
in DNA. The only exception being when consumer interests are
compromised.
A highly placed source
in the finance ministry told the newspaper, “It is not the government’s job to
regulate businesses in a free-market economy. However, unfair trade practices
will not be spared.”
On the Big Billion day
sale, Flipkart sold products worth
over Rs 600 crore. This had prompted a lot of organised
retailers to approach the ministry of commerce, who accused the online
retailers of unfair trade practices. According to the paper, commerce minister
Nirmala Sitharaman has said that there are no government inquiries being
planned to investigate the Flipkart Big Billion day.
According to a
retail consultancy firm quoted in the paper, the current India e-tail market is
worth $2.3 billion and it is expected to grow to $32 billion by 2020 – which
will still be 3 per cent of the overall retail market of $1000 billion.
Disclaimer: Homeshop18
which is in competition with Flipkart, Snapdeal, Myntra, Amazon is owned by
Network18, which also owns Firstpost.
