CAIT seeks action against Amazon, Flipkart over non-essential supplies

Mumbai, April 27 (IANS) The Confederation of All India Traders (CAIT) has written to Minister for Commerce and Industry Piyush Goyal seeking action against e-commerce majors Amazon and Flipkart over alleged supply of non-essential goods amid the Covid-19 restrictions."They have now started taking undue advantage of the pandemic by making illegitimate financial gains by supplying non-essential items which have been strictly prohibited by many state administrations due to ongoing lockdowns to prevent the spread of Covid-19," said the letter written by CAIT Secretary General Praveen Khandelwal.The traders' body alleged that amidst the pandemic, the e-commerce players are trying to capture the market share from small traders by defining every item as essential including mobile phones and accessories.CAIT also said that the government should bring in "a new press note with clarifications with regards to what is permitted and prohibited for marketplace e-commerce entities, to expedite the process and save the industry for the ulterior motives of these foreign entities".It also blamed the government of turning a blind eye to the "violations" of the e-commerce giants as they are "larger than life corporations".
--IANS rrb/sn/sdr/