In January 2020, the CCI launched an investigation against both Amazon and Flipkart for allegedly violating FDI regulations. Union Commerce and Industry Minister Piyush Goyal came down heavily on e-commerce companies and said that these entities have repeatedly indulged in anti-competitive practices such as predatory pricing, thus putting the fate of over 60 million 'mom-and-pop stores' in the country, where over 100 million people work, at risk. Goyal said this while responding to a question on allegations of anti-competitive behaviour against e-commerce entities, related investigations into these entities in the European Union, and India's stand in this scenario, at a Stanford India Policy and Economics Club engagement. "I mean to my mind if they have nothing to hide; if they are doing honest business practices, why don't they respond to the Competition Commission of India? The fact that they are trying to evade that probably only justifies that they are probably indulging in predatory pricing, they are trying to influence market behaviour, their algorithms are trying to influence customer choice -- and these are not permitted in India. So, very clearly, their irregular practices are the cause of their discomfort if any; they should have submitted to the requirements of the Indian law," Goyal said. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JDHMiuJbDB4&list=WL&index=1 Walmart-owned Flipkart and Amazon have been embroiled in a tussle with the CCI since January 2020 when the independent body launched an investigation into the two e-commerce entities for allegedly violating FDI regulations and hurting small sellers by promoting preferred sellers. A complete timeline of…
