Enforcement Directorate raids pan-India offices of E-commerce giants Amazon, Flipkart
E-commerce giants Amazona and Flipkart Photograph:( Reuters )
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The ED conducted raids on at least 15 to 16 locations belonging to these vendors, the sources told Hindustan Times.
The ED conducted raids on at least 15 to 16 locations belonging to these vendors, the sources told Hindustan Times.
India's Enforcement Directorate (ED) on Thursday (Nov 7) launched a crackdown on the vendors operating on e-commerce giants like Amazon and Flipkart as part of a Foreign Exchange Management Act (FEMA) investigation, according to media reports citing official sources.
The ED conducted raids on at least 15 to 16 locations belonging to these vendors, the sources told Hindustan Times.
The central agency conducted these search raids in multiple locations, including Delhi, Gurugram (Haryana), Hyderabad (Telangana), and Bengaluru (Karnataka). The sources said that the operation is linked to financial transactions conducted by “preferred” vendors on the two platforms.
This comes after the antitrust inquiries led by the Competition Commission of India (CCI) raised questions about Amazon and Flipkart’s business practices.
The investigations found that the two e-commerce giants violated local competition laws by giving preference to select sellers, prioritising certain listings, and heavily discounting products, hurting other companies, officials told Hindustan Times.
According to the CCI’s findings, these actions could potentially harm the competition and undermine the fair business environment for smaller sellers on the platforms.
Watch | Online Sellers Sue India’s Antitrust Watchdog Over Flipkart & Amazon Investigation
By conducting this investigation, the central agency is probing the potential misuse of e-commerce platforms like Amazon and Flipkart by sellers who may have engaged in illegal financial practices.
For now, the ED has not revealed the identities of the vendors targeted or disclosed the illegal activities. However, the officials noted that the probe will continue, and further actions may follow depending on the evidence gathered during the raids.
Moreover, Amazon and Flipkart have been facing regulatory scrutiny in India over alleged unfair business practices.
(With inputs from agencies)
