Indian Sellers Collective calls for stringent anti-competition e-commerce policy

Indian Sellers Collective organized a virtually panel discussion to deliberate on various challenges faced by small retailers/merchants in the wake of the Covid pandemic, policy loopholes, and unfair business practices of e-commerce firms that are creating livelihood challenges for them.

The panel delved into the proposed amendments in Consumer Protection (E-Commerce) Rules, 2020 to understand its efficacy in addressing various issues faced by small merchants from the large e-commerce players.

Some key takeaways of the panel discussion were that the government has the intent to address the genuine concerns of consumers and small retailers and towards this, it has put in place laws to regulate e-commerce players in India which needs to be implemented in the right earnest. The panel concluded that the Competition Commission of India (CCI) has a big role to play in protecting the interests of consumers and sellers alike and what is required is the strict adherence to e-commerce policies for both international and domestic online marketplaces.

The panel pressed on the need for education and empowerment of consumers and sellers/small businesses on competition laws so that they can exercise the competition laws thereby checking the instances of exploitation of policy loopholes. It expressed satisfaction with the investigation against the malpractice of firms like Amazons, Flipkart, etc. and demanded implementation of anti-trust laws in India that are in line with the global trend. It called for nailing down errant e-commerce firms completely through a comprehensive policy framework and advocated business-friendly policies to support MSMEs that are the real growth engine of the economy and can provide solutions to the employment and livelihood challenges faced by the country.

The panelists were unanimous in their view that the Covid-19 pandemic has added to the financial woes of small retailers in India who are already facing unfair competition from large e-commerce players. These e-commerce players are using their financial muscle and exploiting policy loopholes to capture market share thereby driving small retailers/merchants out of business and destroying their livelihoods.