Amazon Favoured Big Sellers On Its India Platform, Maneuvered Rules To Protect Small Retailers: Report

The document was prepared for Amazon Inc's executive Jay Carney in 2019 when he was scheduled to meet India's ambassador to the United States soon after Indian government announced FDI regulations.

(File Photo/ AFP)

New Delhi: American e-commerce giant Amazon Inc is one again under fire and this time for dodging India's regulators and favouring big sellers/retailers on its platform in the country. A massive revelation made by news agency Reuters states that Amazon few seller on its India platform accounted for as much as 35 per cent of plaform's sales revenue in early 2019. This means that only 35 of Amazon's seller base of 4 lakh small retailers in India accounted for around two-third of its online sales in the country.

The report shared by the global news agency is based on some confidential documents prepared by Amazon employees it was able to access. The document was prepared for Amazon Inc's executive Jay Carney in 2019 when he was scheduled to meet India's ambassador to the United States soon after Indian government announced FDI regulations which had potential to restrict Amazon's India business.

The note accessed by Reuters reportedly instructed the talk-points for Carney's meeting with India's ambassador to US.

"Amazon favored big sellers on its India platform – and used them to maneuver around rules meant to protect the country's small retailers from getting crushed by e-commerce giants, internal documents show. As one presentation urged: 'Test the Boundaries of what is allowed by law'," the report stated after reviewing Amazon's document. 

The former press secretary to ex-US President Barack Obama was in a note told bloster Amazon's image and stress on the fact that the e-commerce firm is committed more than $5.5 billion investment in India and how it can ease lives of over 4 lakh small sellers registered on it.

However, the report claims that the former press secretary was cautioned not to reveal the fact that only 33 sellers accounted for about a third of the value of all goods sold on the company's website. Reuters also claimed that note advised, the information was 'sensitive' and 'not for disclosure'. 

"All these information were indeed politically sensitive. If they got out, they could give fresh ammunition to small Indian retailers who allege that Amazon harms their businesses by flouting federal regulations and by favoring a few big sellers. It could have annoyed Prime Minister Narendra Modi, whose political base includes millions of small retailers. And it would have undercut Amazon's public messaging that it is the friend of small businesses in India. As the company says in one marketing slogan in India, it is 'transforming lives, one click at a time'," the report revealed. 

However, the news agency clarified the fact that it was unclear about what Carney and the Ambassdor disucssed as a meeting did take place in 2019, but neither side commented on the specifics of the dialogue.