Government to probe Flipkart, Amazon over deep discounts

  • IndiaGlitz, [Friday,October 18 2019]

Union Commerce Minister Piyush Goyal has said that action will be initiated against e-commerce giants Flipkart and Amazon for selling goods at deep discounts. This is known as predatory pricing and is banned under Indian laws. The Minister's statements regarding the giants come days after the Dasara festive sales reportedly touched the three billion dollars figure.

The e-commerce giants have not been given permission to sell products at cheaper rates and resulting in the retail sector to incur losses. I have come across some complaints recently and the Commerce Ministry has sent questionnaires seeking detailed information. This week, a supplementary questionnaire will also be sent. We will take strict action against them if there is a violation of any law in letter or in spirit, the Minister said.

E-commerce companies have no right to offer discount or sell products at predatory prices, Goyal added.

The Minister refuted the rumour that the Indian Railways might quite its ticketing arm IRCTC. There is no plan to fully sell IRCTC. This is speculation based on wrong information, Goyal said.