Introduction: The Confederation of All India Traders (CAIT) serves as the apex body for India’s trading community, advocating for their interests and addressing their grievances. In a recent communication to the Competition Commission of India, CAIT raised concerns about alleged anti-competitive practices by e-commerce giants Flipkart and Amazon, highlighting the detrimental impact on small retailers across the country.
Detailed Analysis: CAIT’s letter to the Competition Commission of India outlines the serious allegations against Flipkart and Amazon, particularly regarding their monopolization of mobile phone sales through exclusive launches and the creation of dummy entities for invoicing purposes. The letter asserts that these practices have resulted in the closure of businesses for numerous small retailers, posing a significant threat to their livelihoods.
According to CAIT’s claims, the passage of each month allows for anti-competitive practices amounting to billions of rupees by Flipkart and Amazon, exacerbating the financial strain on small traders and retailers. Despite the completion of the investigation and the submission of the report, CAIT expresses concern over the delay in taking action against the e-commerce giants, attributing it to their ability to prolong the process through legal maneuvers.
The urgency conveyed by CAIT underscores the severity of the situation and the immediate need for intervention to curb illegal activities and protect the interests of small retailers. CAIT’s willingness to engage directly with the Competition Commission of India reflects its commitment to ensuring swift and decisive action against Flipkart and Amazon.
Conclusion: The Confederation of All India Traders (CAIT) plays a crucial role in advocating for the rights of small traders and retailers in India. Its recent appeal to the Competition Commission of India highlights the pressing need to address alleged anti-competitive practices by e-commerce giants Flipkart and Amazon. As CAIT continues to push for action, the outcome of this case will have far-reaching implications for the livelihoods of millions of small retailers across the country.
*****
Confederation of All India Traders
“Vyapar Bhawan’
925/1, Naiwala, Karol Bagh. New Delhi-110005.
Phone -+91-11-43032664, Telefax: +91-11-45032665
E-mail [email protected] Website. www.cait.in
Ref. No.: 3734/1/50
06th February, 2024
Mrs. Ravneet Kaur
Chairperson
Competition Commission of India
10th Floor, Office Block-1
Kidwai Nagar (East), NBCC Complex
New Delhi-110023
Sub: Request for action in the case filed by Delhi Vyapar Mahasangh against Flipkart and Amazon
Respected Mrs Kaur,
Confederation for All India Traders (CAIT) is an apex body of the trading community of India at the national level. It provides a platform and forum to handle the problems of traders and render effective service to them. CAIT aims to lend full cooperation to the government in streamlining the existing systems while engaging with the Administration on behalf of the traders to seek redressal of their legitimate grievances. CAIT also engages in imparting education to traders to upgrade their performance and render the most satisfactory service to consumers by adhering to a fair trading policy. CAIT’s mission also includes adopting digitalisation, computerisation, digital payments and other significant digital technology in the existing business format of domestic trade in India.
In the month of November, 2019 Delhi Vyapar Mahasangh, filed a case against Flipkart and Amazon as they are indulging in serious anti-competitive practices that has led to closure of business of lakhs of our members who used to earn their livelihood through retail business. These foreign entities (Flipkart and Amazon) have indulged in monopolization of sales of mobile phones through exclusive launch. Some entities/ sellers were created just for the purpose of invoicing with the sole aim to sell the inventory of the Flipkart/ Amazon in the name of such entities/ sellers. Their business model is so distorted that almost all the sales on these platforms is done by their own sellers. The millions of other sellers registered on their platforms are just for the purpose of show off that they are operating an commerce marketplace and for advertisement only.
As per our information, passage of every month would mean allowing the anti-competitive practices to the tune of INR 25000 crore by Flipkart and Amazon and a corresponding loss of livelihood of retailers and small traders.
Using their might. both Flipkart and Amazon could stall the investigation for more than 20 months by filing frivolous litigations. We recently learnt that the investigation in the case has already been completed and the report has been submitted. Hence we request you to take urgent steps and attach utmost priority to the case and pass final penalty order and direction to them to stop their illegal activities, without any further delay, as the outcome of the case has a serious bearing on the survival of lakhs of retailers and their families.
We shall be happy to personally meet your goodself to impress upon the urgency of the ease. Kindly provide us suitable time for the meeting.
Thank you. With kind regards
Yours truly
Praveen Khandelwal
National Secretary General
