Amazon, Flipkart Permitted To Sell Non-Essential Items; Delivery Restricted In Worst-Hit Zones

With the ease in prohibition on sale of goods in the third phase of lockdown, e-commerce websites such as Amazon, Flipkart have resumed taking orders of non-essential goods. However, the delivery of items has been permitted only in orange and green zones.

Chennai: A salesman attends a customers at a mobile shop after authorities allowed shops to open with certain restrictions, during the ongoing COVID-19 nationwide lockdown, in Chennai, Monday, May 4, 2020. (PTI Photo)

Lockdown 3.0: India on Monday entered in the third phase of nationwide lockdown which permitted districts under orange and green zones to resume certain economic activities maintaining the norms of distancing. With the ease in prohibition on sale of goods, e-commerce websites such as Amazon, Flipkart have resumed taking orders of non-essential goods. However, the delivery of items has been restricted in areas where the cases of coronavirus are in soaring numbers . With the decision to extend the nationwide lockdown for another two weeks, Central Ministry last week released special guidelines for Lockdown 3.0 under which the country has been divided into three primary zones depending on the number of COVID-19 cases in a particular area. According to the notice, consumers can resume shopping online for non-essential items however E-commerce platforms have to adhere to the rules and are being allowed to sell items only in orange and green zones. Going by the order, these online retailers are permitted to deliver non-essential items in clusters under green and orange zones however the deliveries have to be made between 7 am and 7 pm. The worst-hit districts which have been categorised under Red zones won’t benefit from these relaxations. There are 130 districts in India that have been labelled as red. Large cities like Delhi, Mumbai, Bengaluru, Pune and Hyderabad, which have reported multiplying numbers of coronavirus cases are permitted only for essential goods during the third phase of lockdown. E-com giant Amazon has notified on its India website that non-essential products will be available for ordering in only selected areas. Upon logging in the personal account, the website directs the customer to the list of items that can be delivered to their cities. There are a variety of items that are now available on the website including smartphones, smart speakers, laptops, smart TVs, and so on. While Amazon has customised the list of available goods on the basis of coloured zones, Walmart-owned Flipkart still displays the availability of essential items. Till now, there is no information regarding the new change.