The Department of Industrial Policy and Promotion has announced that despite receiving requests to extend the 1 February 2019 deadline for Press Note 2 of 2018 (FDI Policy in e-Commerce), it will not extend the deadline. We have reached out to Amazon, Flipkart and Snapdeal and will update this when we hear from them. (Are you an ecommerce company with a comment about this policy? Reach out to me at sneha@medianama.com.) (Update: Snapdeal has issues the following statement: "Snapdeal welcomes the government's decision to enforce Press Note 2 / 2018 guidelines from 1st Feb 2019. Adherence to rule of law will allow India to create a genuine and robust e-commerce sector, which will ensure lasting gains for both buyers and sellers." - Snapdeal Spokesperson) Earlier this week, domestic e-commerce firms Snapdeal, Shopclues, Shop101, Limeroad, Wooplr, and Fynd had written to the DIPP and Commerce Minister Suresh Prabhu opposing the deadline extension. The companies also supported the clarifying the rules on FDI in e-commerce. Meanwhile, Amazon and Flipkart had asked that the deadline be extended by 4 and 6 months respectively. Along with them, US government had voiced its concerns over the new regulations to Indian government officials, and pushed for the regulation to become a bilateral issue between US and India. A Mint report from yesterday stated that both Amazon and Flipkart were hopeful towards a deadline extension, engaging with government officials directly and indirectly through trade bodies. This policy would affect Amazon's price, selection and convenience for sellers and customers,…
