In an official tweet, the Competition Commision on India (CCI) announced that it has given its final approval to the long-awaited Flipkart-Walmart merger. In May, US retail giant Walmart acquired a 77% stake in Indian ecommerce company Flipkart for $16 Bn, in what was said to be the largest ecommerce deal in the world.
The CCI, in its order, added that the issue of Flipkart’s discounting practices would be dealt with separately in the upcoming ecommerce policy. It must be noted that the ecommerce think tank has already submitted its draft proposal for the ecommerce policy which aims to ensure a level playing field for local businesses doing digital trade in India.
The CCI said that discounting practices by Flipkart may have to be reviewed by the relevant authorities, putting pressure on regulators to clamp down on discounts on online platforms.
Earlier, Small traders, led by the Confederation of All India Traders (CAIT), had complained about discounting by Flipkart and preferential treatment for certain sellers on its platform, among other things.
“The issues concerning the FDI policy would need to be addressed in that policy space to ensure that online market platforms remain a true marketplace providing access to all retailers,” the CCI said in its order.
Source: INC42
