They demanded disclosure of all the advantages being granted to sellers on e-commerce platforms and the parameters being used to rank goods on the sites
Seeking fair competition, a group of small vendors on Amazon and Flipkart have approached the Department for Promotion of Industry and Internal Trade (DPIIT) to put strict norms in place so e-commerce firms cannot change terms of business and suspend accounts arbitrarily, The Economic Times reported.
They also asked for transparency from e-tailers regarding disclosure of all advantages being granted to sellers on their platforms and the parameters being used to rank goods on the sites.
"Platforms have a free hand to conduct their business. This is leaving a lot of issues unresolved and a lot of businesses being affected due to unreasonable blacklisting, data glitches and absence of appealing and frequent change in policies. We need ease of business while conducting business on platforms," the All India Online Vendors Association, which represents over 3,500 online sellers, said.
This is remarkably close to the digital single market rules announced by the European Union (EU) recently, which promote fair trade on the internet. The new rules were announced on February 14 and apply to over 7,000 online platforms or marketplaces that operate in the EU. This includes giants like Amazon and small startups as well.
Under the new rules, marketplaces and search engines will have to disclose the basis upon which goods and services are ranked on their websites. Their practices must be transparent so sellers can make favourable changes to their operations and become profitable. The rules also require platforms to set-up an internal complaints redressal system to assist sellers.
The EU decided to put digital single market (DSM) strategy to work in 2015 to ensure free movement of services, capital and persons and seamless business operations and better access to digital goods. It also promotes competition and innovation. The DSM strategy wants online portals to reach their full potential but not at the cost of small businesses and traders.
Even the Indian government clamped down on e-commerce players in December 2018 with new FDI norms that ban 'predatory' practices in the sector to protect the interests of small businesses. The new norms ban deep discounts and attractive cashback offers. Companies like Amazon and Flipkart will now have limited control over the sellers on their platform. They can also not sell brands on their platforms with whom they have equity relations.
