A plan that clearly has misfired !

Some have deemed it as the return of the inspector raj era while others have just rebuked it for its colossally confusing terms and conditions. But the recent restrictions put on the e-commerce players had always had it coming.

It all began when a couple of months ago brick and mortar retailers filed complaint against the heavy discounting practices of e-commerce players. Following this, the finance ministry had imposed a series of restrictions on these players. This has led to a lot of confusion in the industry.

The Plan That Backfired

The restrictions that stood out and attracted a lot of rebuke included restricting companies,which have FDI, from offering discounts to the customers. As per this condition, Flipkart, Snapdeal, etc could not offer direct discounts to the customers; only the sellers on these platforms could. Another condition imposed stated that no single vendor could generate more than a fourth of sales on any such platform. Also, no foreign-funded e-commerce player could buy, stock and sell directly to the customers.

Getting On With Making Amends

Now NitiAyog CEO, Amitabh Kant, has called for removing these restrictions. He admitted that Indian e-commerce industry is worth $25 billion at present, with a potential to reach $300 billion by 2025. Putting such restrictions will only cause confusion and hold back this industry from growing.

The NitiAayog panel is now reviewing the situation and will be out with the revised policies in a month’s time. The decision is certain to be in the favour e-commerce. Kant has also added since the government has opened up to FDI in almost all sectors, it cannot go back on its word now.

What are your views on FDI restrictions in such growing sectors? Share your thoughts in the comments section below.

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