E-commerce companies like Amazon and Flipkart are “under investigation” following complaints from consumers and small retailers, Commerce Minister Piyush Goyal said on Tuesday during a press briefing. The government has sought “several informations” from the companies, which are currently being looked into, he added. “We are also considering certain clarifications to ensure that the e-commerce sector works in the true spirit of the law, of the rules that have been laid down for e-commerce,” Goyal said. He said that e-commerce companies are only “service providers”, and they should only enable trade between a buyer and seller, and not promote their own products or use algorithms to give preferential treatment to certain sellers. He added: “To reiterate, e-commerce is supposed to provide and agnostic platform so that buyers and sellers can trade with each other. The platform should not become a part of the trading transactions, should neither be funding it, should neither be having algorithms which give preference to one or the other, should neither be promoting their own products, by providing all data that is required for a rational choice, and the choice should be free choice of the consumer.” — Piyush Goyal, Union Commerce Minister In case e-commerce companies do not follow the “spirit of the law”, they will “have to respond to our concerns and correct their business practices at the earliest,” Goyal said. Goyal’s remarks come as retail traders in the country are pushing back against Amazon and Flipkart. The Confederation of All India Traders, a…
