Amazon urges government not to alter e-commerce foreign investment rules until its investigation concludes

By

Isabelle Crossley

Published
Mar 26, 2021

Amazon India has asked government authorities not to change the current e-commerce foreign investment rules until any investigations into its business practices have concluded. 

 
On Thursday, Amazon India urged government authorities to delay any plans to change e-commerce regulations as it said that doing so would harm global investor confidence and sentiment, ET Bureau reported. This would in turn harm suppliers and small businesses, according to Amazon. 
 
Amazon India, along with Walmart-owned Flipkart, faces investigations into whether its business practices violate foreign investment norms for e-commerce. Amazon has attempted to block investigations, arguing that this would harm its reputation, and has denied all allegations, stating that it follows the country’s rules. However, the Competition Commission of India has urged courts to push ahead. 

Authorities have recently been considering revising e-commerce foreign investment rules. The last time the government made significant changes to its e-commerce regulations (in 2018), Amazon had to restructure its business in order to comply with the new rules. This resulted in temporary disruptions to its business in the country. 
 
In Indian e-commerce, India-based businesses face fewer regulations than foreign-based businesses such as Amazon, a rule which is designed to protect Indian traders. Amazon now faces competition from domestic business Reliance in the e-commerce space, as the Mukesh Ambani-led business expands online.