DPIIT to hold meetings with industry, trader bodies on FDI in ecommerce

DPIIT will hold a host of meetings with industry and trader associations this month on issues pertaining to foreign direct investment in the e-commerce sector, an official said.

The Department for Promotion of Industry and Internal Trade (DPIIT) will hold a host of meetings with industry and trader associations this month on issues pertaining to foreign direct investment (FDI) in the e-commerce sector, an official said.

While a meeting with traders' bodies including Confederation of All India Traders (CAIT) is scheduled on March 17, officials of the department would meet industry associations on March 19.

Further deliberations would be conducted with concerned ministries and companies engaged in the sector from the week starting from March 22, the official added.

These meetings assume significance as last month Commerce and Industry Minister Piyush Goyal had said that the government was considering coming out with certain clarifications to ensure that the e-commerce sector works in the "true spirit" of the law and rules.

The minister had stated that there are certain complaints from consumers and small retailers about certain practices of the e-commerce companies, which are under investigation.

CAIT has time and again alleged that e-commerce players have violated the Foreign Exchange Management Act and FDI rules.

When asked about the meeting on March 17, CAIT Secretary General Praveen Khandelwal said that they would seek early issuance of the clarifications.

"We are awaiting those clarifications. In the meeting, we will impress upon the government to bring those clarification as e-commerce players are violating FDI rules," he claimed.

He added that there should be no ambiguity in the policy. The ministry had forwarded representations by the Confederation of All India Traders of alleged violations by Amazon and Flipkart to the Enforcement Directorate and the Reserve Bank of India for "necessary action".

As per the current policy, 100 per cent FDI is permitted in marketplace e-commerce activities. It is prohibited in inventory-based activities.