E-commerce Taxing

Counterfeit electronic goods, knock-offs of apparel, cosmetics and over-the-counter pharmaceutical products were common-place online

New Delhi/Bengaluru, 28 October Being allowed Predatory discounting and a conducive business environment are not the same thing, the central government plans to make clear to digital commerce entities. In the e-commerce policy it is preparing, this point will be underlined, say sources in the commerce ministry.'Deep' discounting has been a constant complaint of traders and offline (traditional) selling entities. "E-commerce players keep saying that the business environment needs to improve; it should be more open, so that more foreign investment comes in. Butm when you do a deep dive, their main bone of contention is around the discounts and sales they hold, and the protests around it. These two things are completely different and in the e-commerce policy, we will make this clear. We, under no circumstances, will allow or condone predatory pricing," said a senior in the ministry.The policy is, after delays, likely to be ready only next year. The policy might not only limit the ...

The rationale is that discounts constitute marketing expenditure, incurred to build market share or a brand