CHENNAI: Are Amazon and Flipkart violating the Indian law by offering discounts on feeding bottles put up for sale on their websites?
The e-commerce companies are alleged to have violated the Infant Milk Substitutes, Feeding Bottles and Infant Foods (Regulation of Production, Supply and Distribution) Act 1992 and Amendment Act 2003 by selling ‘Philips Avent’, ‘Pigeon’ and ‘MeeMee’ feeding bottles on discount.
It is learnt that the Breastfeeding Promotion Network of India (BPNI), a national network of organisations and individuals dedicated to promoting mother and child health through protection, promotion, and support of breastfeeding, has approached the Union Secretary for the Ministry of Women and Child Development Rabindra Panwar seeking action against Amazon for violating the Act.
“On the website, infant feeding bottles are being promoted for the general public.
The shopping portal is offering price discounts on purchase of infant feeding bottles, which is a violation of Infant Milk Substitutes, Feeding Bottles and Infant Foods (Regulation of Production, Supply and Distribution) Act,1992 (section 3 and 4 of the IMS Act),” said Arun Gupta, central coordinator of BPNI.
"Section 3 (c) of IMS Act prohibits any promotion. ‘No persons shall take part in the promotion of infant milk substitutes, feeding bottles or infant foods’.
"As per the Section 4 of the IMS Act (c) ‘No person shall offer inducement of any other kind, for the purpose of promoting the use or sale of infant milk substitutes or feeding bottles or infant foods,’" the BPNI said in its letter to the Ministry, a copy of which is available with Express.
Gupta said, “Avent Philips, a leading manufacturer of feeding bottles and Amazon are brazenly flouting the stringent Indian law that prohibits such manufacturers or distributors from giving any inducements or using promotional tactics to promote the use of feeding bottles.”
“The shopping portal is offering discounts on stated price on purchase of infant feeding bottles, which is a violation of IMS Act Section 3 and 4. The BPNI has also found that Amazon provided discounts on other brands ‘MeeMee’ and ‘Pigeon’ feeding bottles,” he added. He said the BPNI has been monitoring the compliance with the IMS Act since 1995.
Express has tried to contact Amazon with queries, but they are yet to respond. Flipkart has responded, saying, “We take compliance with all applicable rules very seriously. And here also we are in full compliance with all rules except a small technical glitch with just one product,” a Flipkart spokesperson said.