Crackdown On Cheap Chinese Items Begin; Tough To Order From AliExpress, Club Factory Now
Cheap Chinese products were harming both online and offline retailers in India.
Since last few years, a new trend had emerged of ordering cheaper Chinese goods from websites such as Club Factory, AliExpress and Shien.
Now, this won’t be ‘allowed’, as the Indian Govt. has initiated a major crackdown on these cheap products.
No More Cheap Products From AliExpress, Club Factory
There is an import rule, as per which ‘gifts’ which are priced under Rs 5000 can be sent to India from abroad, without any tax or duty. The objective was to assist NRIs who wish to send such gifts to their loved ones in India.
But this rule was being exploited by sellers on popular Chinese ecommerce portals such as Club Factory, AliExpress and Shien: Products ordered by Indians on these sites were sent as ‘gifts’, which exempted the Indian customers to pay any form on tax or duty.
But no more.
As per incoming reports, only four such ‘gifts’ will be allowed to a particular address in India, per year.
This will be enforced by India Post, which will now scan every address to which such imported Chinese products are delivered.
This move will help Indian retailers, both offline and online, as they were incurring losses due to this practice of ordering cheap Chinese products.
A senior executive from a leading online retailer said, “They don’t pay customs duties or goods and services tax (GST). They don’t display (MRP) as is mandatory according to the Packaged Commodities Rules 2017 amendment that covers foreign e-commerce sites doing transactions with Indian consumers,”
The Rise Of Cheap Chinese Products In India
Chinese ecommerce portals have been experiencing a steady rise in popularity since last few years.
Shein.com, which is 700th most popular website in the world as per Alexa, has over 5 million downloads in India and shipping to 15,000 pin codes in Tier I and Tier II cities, with 10,000 daily orders. On their website, they run special offers for only Indian customers.
ClubFactor, another popular Chinese ecommerce portal, has more than 35 million downloads of their app in India, and have recently signed up Ranveer Singh for an ad.
Customers Are Happy With Chinese Portals?
The rise of Chinese ecommerce portals in India is primarily because customers are happy. They can get the same product at 20-50% less cost, and it doesn’t matter whether it is coming from China or any other country.
One such customer from Delhi shared her experience: “The products are at least 50-60% cheaper than what’s available on Indian e-commerce sites like Myntra or Jabong. It’s even cheaper than Sarojini Nagar market. You can get a frock for less than Rs 500.”
Sarojini Nagar Market is a popular fashion hub in Delhi, known for cheap apparels and accessories. If Chinese products are even cheaper than Sarojini Nagar, then it is bound to raise alarm.
It would be interesting to observe how these Chinese portals now counter this latest salvo by India Post and Indian Govt..
Do you shop from Chinese ecommerce portals like AliExpress, ClubFactory, Shein? Do let us know by commenting right here!
