ED conducts seaches at 19 premises of Amazon and Flipkart under FEMA
The raids were conducted in Delhi, Bengaluru, Mumbai, Hyderabad and Panchkula.
New Delhi, November 8
The Enforcement Directorate conducted searches at 19 premises of vendors selling their products on e-commerce platforms Amazon and Flipkart. The raids were conducted in Delhi, Bengaluru, Mumbai, Hyderabad and Panchkula.
The federal probe agency has initiated its investigation under the provisions of the Foreign Exchange Management Act (FEMA) based on complaints that the e-commerce platforms are violating India’s FDI (foreign direct investment) rules by directly or indirectly influencing the sale price of goods or services and not providing a level playing field to vendors.
ED examined documents seized during the searches at premises linked to eight vendors, who have not been named so far.
The Confederation of All India Traders (CAIT) welcomed the ED action.
The CAIT and mobile retailers’ association AIMRA had also petitioned the CCI in the past, seeking immediate suspension of operations of the platforms, alleging that the companies were engaged in predatory pricing and burning cash to offer heavy discounts on products.
