With reference to the editorial, "FDI in e-commerce" (March 31), the government's efforts to strike a balance between the interests of online and offline retailers seem to have succeeded only partially. The focus should have been customer satisfaction.
From that point of view, the twin provisions of barring marketplace players from offering discounts on their own - to end "predatory pricing" - and the 25 per cent cap on sales from a single vendor are not to the consumers' liking. The second provision will create problems for sale of high-value items such as electronic goods.
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However, the policy has some positive features. It puts the onus of warranties and after-sales service on sellers, and not marketplace companies. It clarifies the distinction between marketplace and inventory-based companies.
Looking at the policy from the government perspective, discounts offered by e-commerce platforms will not continue endlessly when their balance sheets won't support them. So, there is a need to keep foreign direct investments within limits. To that extent the policy deserves to be tried out.
Y G Chouksey, Pune
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