Walmart-Flipkart deal to hit Indian retail, needs govt scrutiny, says CAIT

After assessing the deal, we will either represent to government or to the Competition Commission, or we will go to court, says CAIT Secretary General

Traders' body CAIT today said Walmart's USD 16 billion acquisition of home-grown retailer Flipkart will affect India's retail sector "very badly" and demanded to scan and scrutinising the deal from "different angles" by the government.

US retailer Walmart Inc has announced the acquisition of 77 per cent stake in Flipkart in its biggest takeover till date. The deal values the 11-year old Indian e-commerce firm at USD 20.8 billion.

"A regulatory authority should be constituted by the government which should scan the details of Walmart-Flipkart deal and it should be scrutinised from different angles like competition and cybersecurity, predatory pricing, deep discounting and loss funding," CAIT Secretary General Praveen Khandelwal told PTI.

"After assessing the deal, we will either represent to government or to the Competition Commission, or we will go to court," he added.

Besides, Khandelwal said traders are facing several problems with regard to GST portal, adding that the traders' body has submitted representations to the finance ministry in this regard.

The Confederation of All India Traders (CAIT) today launched a nationwide campaign to popularise Bharat QR, for the trading community to embrace this payment solution. In the first phase, CAIT will train 1,000 traders and organise 300 workshops, conferences and seminars till October 2.

"The basic reason why we are promoting Bharat QR is the GST Council has taken a decision that on digital transactions they will be offering discounts which will be 1.5-2 per cent but the situation on the ground is that most of the traders do not have digital payment means with them," Khandelwal said.

According to him, Bharat QR will play a pivotal role in encouraging over 60 million micro and small merchants to accept digital payments.

Bharat QR, the world's first asset light, interoperable payment solution, offers seamless, safe and secure transactions to both merchants and consumers.