1.5 Lakh Offline Retailers Claim Amazon Is Cheating; Asks Govt To Put A Limit On Amazon’s Daily Sales

As many as 1.5 lakh offline mobile retailers are suspicious of Amazon’s business practices and have asked the Prime Minister to investigate the same. They have also asked the Government to put a cap on the smartphone sales of Amazon. 

Read on to find out all the details!

Trade Group Of Retailers Asks Government To Investigate Amazon’s Business Practices

A letter was sent to PM Modi by the trade group, All India Mobile Retailers Association (AIMRA) on behalf of 1,50,000 mobile phone stores. They have asked the Government to investigate Amazon’s business practices in the country and to put a cap on the online smartphone sales of a single seller.

In the letter, a special report was mentioned that was published last month, which stated that Amazon has given preferential treatment to a small group of sellers for many years now. 

As per the letter, the trade group is aware of Amazon’s thought process and strategy, and have stated that the documents “have revealed that Amazon is doing business in India with the strategy of deftly dodging the regulators and politicians.”

AIMRA has asked the Government to “suspend all Amazon activities in India” and conduct an investigation into the practices of the company.

However, Amazon has said that no seller is being given any preferential treatment on its marketplace and has also said that they have always complied with the laws in India.

AIMRA Asks Government To Cap Online Sales Of Amazon

This is not a new development; retailers have been accusing Amazon and Flipkart of not following federal regulations and their business practices negatively impact such small retailers. 

The Amazon documents that have been stated in the letter show that Amazon has been helping a specific number of sellers prosper on its website, discounted their fees and also helped one cut special deals with some renowned tech giants, such as Apple Inc.

As per the documents, about 35 of more than 400,000 sellers of Amazon in India has made up for about two thirds of the sales conducted online.

AIMRA has also asked that there should be a cap on a single seller’s daily smartphone sales on Amazon and Flipkart. The cap that they have asked for is at 5,00,000 rupees ($6,829). They have also stated that the government should investigate the tie ups between smartphone brands and these sellers.