Reliance is one of the biggest retailer in India but it has been struggling to expand its e-commerce operations. The competitors like Amazon, Flipkart are key rivals in the e-commerce market.
RIL has called government to tighten e-commerce rules in India to ensure that these businesses do treat their sellers equally.
In a closed door meeting Reliance asked Government Officials to make special regulations for non-discriminatory treatment of sellers on marketplace websites. The sources also said that Reliance did not name the rival companies but the conversation targeted e-commerce giants that are operating in India.
The sources have also revealed that Amazon executive was also present at the meeting and has taken note of the concerns raised by Reliance.
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In past, small retailers have alleged the giant e-commerce platforms of preferential treatment. These platforms give special treatment to big sellers in which they hold business and financial interest.
However, none of the alleged companies has accepted it and said that they are only running marketplaces. They only connect independent sellers with the customers.
The meeting was called by Industry Promotion Department. Traditional retailers were also present at the meeting and they raised the concern. Their allegations were supported by senior executive of Reliance.
The senior executive of Reliance has pinned that marketplaces should not have a relationship with sellers and they should act independently. There should be policy changes that ensure that no seller is getting treated differently.
Amazon have been accused in past of running systematic campaigns that rigged search results. By that Amazon has boosted its own product lines on the website. Amazon have also been accused for favoring certain sellers and using them to bypass foreign investment laws of India.
The Confederation of All India Traders said it had urged officials to establish an e-commerce regulator to hear retailers’ grievances at Tuesday’s meeting.
