E-commerce companies including Amazon, Flipkart, have been facing serious allegations of collusion with banks. Traders have complained about this matter to the banking regulator Reserve Bank. The Confederation of All India Traders (CAT) says that merchants across the country are suffering a big loss due to cash back discounts given by banks on purchasing goods from the e-commerce portal. Banks, along with Amazon and Flipkart, are violating the fundamental rights of merchants and consumers. Also, it is also an open violation of the government’s FDI policy, which is being made by creating a cartel between banks and companies like Amazon-Flipkart.
CAT National President BC Bhartia and National General Secretary Praveen Khandelwal say that we will file a separate complaint to the Competition Commission to investigate and take action on the bank and cartel of Amazon-Flipkart. Such connivance is proving to be harmful for the small traders of the country.
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CAT, a traders’ association, has sent a memorandum to Reserve Bank of India Governor Shaktikanta Das on Monday. It said that many banks are offering 10% discount or cashback from time to time on the purchase of any product from Amazon and Flipkart’s ecommerce portals. Prominent banks include HDFC Bank, SBI, ICICI Bank, Citibank, Kotak Mahindra Bank, HSBC, Bank of Baroda, RBL Bank, Axis Bank etc.
Khandelwal says that these banks are offering cash discounts on shopping through these portals through their debit / credit cards, but even if the same goods are purchased from a shop and paid by the same banks’ cards, this discount Is not available This attitude of banks is discriminatory with merchants and buyers. Also, encourage such offers to buy goods from online portals. Which is a violation of Article 19 and Article 301 of the Constitution. Both these articles guarantee the freedom of trade and commerce in India.
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Bhartia says there is a cartel between banks with Amazon and Flipkart Flipkart which also encourages unfair competition in the market. It is against competition law. Competition law prohibits agreements that cause or are likely to cause adverse effects on competition in India.
CAT has demanded that the Reserve Bank should take cognizance of the matter immediately and order the banks to stop the cash back offer with immediate effect. Also issue an order to take action against the banks for banking standards and the suspected role of banks.
Source: www.financialexpress.com
