Don't kill e-commerce

Regulating new economy requires new thinking

E-commerce companies will come under intense regulatory watch as they head out for the biggest annual shopping carnival starting next week. The Competition Commission of India (CCI) wants to keep a check on deep discounts by e-commerce companies to protect the businesses of brick and mortar retailers. While it’s the job of the competition watchdog to curb anti-competitive behaviour across sectors, the e-commerce industry is yet to qualify as a dominant business to come under the CCI lens. At an estimated sale of $33 billion as of 2018, the e-commerce market is barely 25 per cent of the organised retail