India’s commerce minister, Piyush Goyal, fired up American e-commerce giants such as Amazon and Walmart, accusing them of arrogance and flouting local laws through predatory pricing practices.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Although he did not directly name Amazon.com or Walmart Inc’s Flipkart – India’s two dominant e-commerce players – his comments come at a time of growing uproar from small Indian retailers and retailers who accuse the U.S. giant of circumventing Indian consumer and competition laws.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
The two U.S. e-commerce giants have denied the merchants’ allegations against them.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Goyal also criticized the companies for shopping in court forums and failing to comply with an investigation by India’s Competition Commission (CCI).<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Flipkart and Amazon have appealed CCI’s offer to reopen an investigation into their business practices after a judge this month rejected the companies’ original pleas.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Separately, in a letter to Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Sunday, the Confederation of All India Traders accused e-commerce companies of treating India like a “banana republic” by circumventing its laws.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
The panel called on the government to ensure that the proposed e-commerce rules favor local merchants and retailers, despite lobbying efforts by the e-commerce giants.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
The U.S. India Business Council, a leading U.S. lobbying group, described India’s proposed new e-commerce rules as worrying.<\/p>\n\n\n