ED Cracks Down on Amazon and Flipkart Vendors. Here’s Why.

Multiple teams from the Enforcement Directorate (ED) conducted searches at 19 locations of vendors selling products on e-commerce platforms Amazon and Flipkart, in Delhi, Bengaluru, Mumbai, Hyderabad, and Panchkula.

The investigation was reportedly launched under the Foreign Exchange Management Act (FEMA) following complaints that these e-commerce platforms are violating India’s FDI (foreign direct investment) rules.

Allegedly, they are directly or indirectly influencing product prices and failing to ensure a level playing field for vendors.

The Confederation of All India Traders (CAIT) welcomed the ED's actions. "CAIT, along with other trade bodies, has been raising these issues for years," stated CAIT Secretary General and BJP MP from Delhi, Praveen Khandelwal.

He also claimed that the Competition Commission of India (CCI) had issued penalty notices to these e-commerce platforms, accusing them of anti-competitive practices that harm small traders and kirana stores.