Govt. scrutinizing online sales

Ahead of the festive season, the Department for Promotion of Industry and Internal Trade has decided to keep a strict eye on festive sales by e-commerce companies. This ensues from complaints by Confederation of All India Traders about predatory pricing and deep discounts that infringe on foreign direct investment rules offered on platforms like Amazon and Flipkart. In response to the festive season sales kicked off by these firms last week, offline retailers stated that sales can be organized only by the owners of inventory, and not by the marketplaces. However, both the companies have advertised that the discounts are being offered directly by brands.