Union Commerce Minister Piyush Goyal has raised concerns regarding the business practices of American e-commerce giant Amazon in India. The minister questioned Amazon's losses worth thousands of crores, suggesting that the e-commerce major may be involved in predatory pricing policies.
“If you make ₹6,000 crore loss in one year, does that not smell like predatory pricing to any of you? Goyal asked the audience, referring to Amazon’s losses in India. The minister was speaking in Delhi at the launch of the report, ‘Assessing the net impact of e-commerce on employment and consumer welfare’ by Pahle India Foundation.
"When Amazon says it's going to invest a billion dollars in the country, we forget the underlying story that the billion dollars is not coming in for any great service or any great investment to support the Indian economy. They made a billion dollars loss in their balance sheet and they have to fill in that loss," the Union Commerce Minister further added.
While talking about Amazon India’s losses, Piyush Goyal also questioned the kind of money the American e-commerce giant was paying to professionals in India. The minister said, “"How did that (Amazon India’s) loss get caused? They paid a ₹1,000 crore to professionals. I don't know who these professionals are… I want to know what kind of lawyers and CAs get ₹1,000 crore, unless you are paying all the top lawyers to block them, so nobody can fight a case against you."
The commerce minister also highlighted the negative impact of rising e-commerce penetration on small retailers. He said that e-commerce doesn’t attack every part of a retail store. Instead, the minister added, that e-commerce goes for those 5-10% items that make a good profit for the storeowner. Therefore, the minister exhorted the audience to investigate the impact of e-commerce on retail stores across the country.