The Confederation of All India Traders and the Swadeshi Jagran Manch have opposed any extension of the February 1 deadline for updated norms on foreign investment in e-commerce, as sought by some online retail platforms.
In letters to the prime minister, they urged his office not to grant more time to the e-tailers after ET reported on Friday that the government is considering extending the deadline.
“(We)… strongly believe that buckling under the United States’ pressure on this issue will directly harm the interest of 13 crore people earning their livelihood as small entrepreneurs and their employees,” Ashwani Mahajan, national co-convenor of the SJM, the economic wing of the Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh, said in its letter to Prime Minister Narendra Modi. The letter referred to an electoral promise of the Bharatiya Janata Party in 2014 to halt the charge of foreign companies in multi-brand retailing.
In its letter, the CAIT said Press Note 2 of December will prove to be beneficial not only to 70 million small businesses in offline and online trade but also to consumers in the long run. Press Note 2 bars marketplaces and their group companies from owning equity stakes in any of their vendors and prohibits them from having control over inventory sold on their platforms.
Amazon and Walmart-owned Flipkart have sought a deferment of the February 1 deadline and industry officials said the government was weighing an extension of at least two months.
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