Impose Luxury Tax Under GST On Ecommerce Goods Purchases: Industry Bodies To Govt
Highlighting that the online commerce companies are manipulating markets, violating laws and systematically dismantling small retailers for profit, putting the traditional retail sector under siege, the industry bodies have urged the government to impose a luxury tax under Goods and Services Tax (GST) on the purchase of goods from ecommerce platforms.
Taking aim at Amazon and Flipkart, Kailash Lakhyani, Chairman of the All India Mobile Retailers Association (AIMRA), called them repeat offenders who have exploited India’s legal loopholes for over a decade.
“Using a maze of group entities and preferred sellers, these companies bypass foreign direct investment (FDI) restrictions to dominate every layer of the supply chain while sidelining Indian retailers,” Lakhyani highlighting at the national conclave on ‘cruel face of quick commerce and ecommerce’ held at the Constitution Club, New Delhi.
Demanding immediate enforcement of FDI and ecommerce policies and rolling out of ecommerce rules under the Consumer Protection Act, the Confederation of All India Traders (Cait), in association with All India Consumer Products Distributors Federation (AICPDF), Organised Retailers Association (ORA) and AIMRA, sounded a nationwide alarm against the unchecked and unethical operations of both foreign-funded ecommerce giants and the Indian quick commerce platforms.
Criticising the aggressive algorithm-driven consumer manipulation and the reckless use of FDI for predatory pricing, Praveen Khandelwal, Secretary General of Cait, accused these platforms of treating India like a banana republic where laws are secondary to business ambitions.
