According to the Confederation of All India Traders (CAIT), these e-commerce giants are mocking the norms of Foreign Direct Investment
New Delhi: Days after Flipkart announced its ‘The Big Billion Days’ sale, the Confederation of All India Traders (CAIT) requested the government and sought a "blanket ban" on such festive sales offered by Flipkart and its rival Amazon.
Earlier, Flipkart announced its six-day sale (starting from September 29) ahead of Diwali and Dussehra. But, Amazon is yet to announce the dates for its annual sale.
It is during this time the e-commerce platforms offer huge discounts on their site to lure customers as Indians tend to make a lot of purchases during the festive season.
In a letter to commerce and industry minister Piyush Goyal, the Confederation of All India Traders (CAIT) said, "By offering deep discounts ranging from 10% to 80% on their e-commerce portals, these companies are clearly influencing the prices and creating an uneven level playing field which is in direct contravention of the policy."
The CAIT also said that as these e-commerce platforms are "openly flouting FDI norms, a blanket ban on such festival sales should be ordered."
Flipkart had also said that "affordability is one of the key pillars for the Big Billion Days, with a focus on empowering consumers to fulfil all their shopping aspirations without compromising on their budgets".
The e-commerce giant also said that more than 50 million Indians would have access to some form of credit, through Flipkart's various loan options. This also includes Cardless Credit, Flipkart PayLater and No-Cost EMIs on leading bank debit and credit cards.
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