Indian Mobile Retailers Call for Amazon Probe, Cap on Online Smartphone Sales
An Indian trade group representing 150,000 mobile phone stores on Monday urged Prime Minister Narendra Modi to investigate Amazon’s business practices in the country and impose a daily cap on a single seller’s online smartphone sales.
In a letter sent to Modi, the group cited a special report published last month that revealed Amazon has for years given preferential treatment to a small group of sellers on its Indian platform, using them to circumvent the country’s strict foreign investment regulations.
The report was based on internal Amazon documents dated between 2012 and 2019.
“We were already aware of Amazon’s thought process and strategy,” the All India Mobile Retailers Association (AIMRA) wrote in the letter. The documents, the letter said, “have revealed that Amazon is doing business in India with the strategy of deftly dodging the regulators and politicians”.
AIMRA urged the government to “suspend all Amazon activities in India” until there is an investigation into the company’s practices.
Amazon says it doesn’t give preferential treatment to any seller on its marketplace and has always complied with Indian law.
