Amazon and Flipkart respond to DPIIT, deny predatory pricing

By

Isabelle Crossley

Published
Nov 8, 2019

E-commerce giants Amazon and Flipkart have communicated to the Department for Promotion of Industry and Internal Trade that they do not engage in predatory pricing online in India as the government body investigates them.

In their response to recent DPIIT queries, US-owned businesses said that any losses they have recently incurred stem from business building investments and not from deep discounting, ET Bureau reported. Both businesses have faced public criticism by a number of traders’ bodies which allege that they are not respecting India’s foreign direct investment regulations.

 Both businesses maintain that they follow FDI regulations in India. Amazon India also communicated that it is making a profit at a transactional level and the business’ India country head Amit Agarwal met with senior members of the DPIIT in person this week. The businesses are investing in logistics, warehouses, and technology, sources told ET Bureau. 

The Confederation of All India Traders had accused both Amazon and Flipkart of predatory pricing and deep discounting during the recent festive sale season and reported this to the DPIIT which then contacted the two businesses in October. The CAIT argued that the business’ discounting practices negatively affected offline retailers’ sales in the festive season.