NEW DELHI/BENGALURU : The Enforcement Directorate (ED) on Thursday raided some of the sellers related to prominent e-commerce platforms Amazon and Flipkart in the matter related to alleged violation of Foreign Exchange Management Act (FEMA).
The action follows concerns raised by traders and retailers over FDI violations and anti-competitive practices in quick commerce, e-commerce sector. Sources say the entities raided include Appario Retail, Shreyash Retail, Darshita Retail and Ashiana Retail.
Appario Retail, once owned by Amazon, is now part of Clicktech Retail, a seller on Amazon. Both Flipkart and Amazon didn’t respond to queries. As per sources, searches were done at multiple locations in Hyderabad, Bengaluru, Delhi and Gurugram. The Confederation of All India Traders (CAIT) welcomed the ED action.
Praveen Khandelwal, MP and Secretary General, CAIT, said several trade bodies have been raising these issues for the past a few years. “Earlier, the Competition Commission of India issued penalty notices to Amazon, Flipkart and their preferred sellers for engaging in anti-competitive practices,” he said.
“In response to complaints filed by the trading community regarding FDI violations and anti-competitive practices of quick-commerce companies like Blinkit, Swiggy, and Zepto, we urge both CCI and ED to take swift action to prevent any further, irreparable damage to the businesses of small traders,” he added.