Flipkart influencing prices for select sellers, funding discounts, alleges Madras HC lawyer

Ecommerce major Flipkart is offering discounts at the product level for select sellers, a Madras High Court lawyer alleged in his complaint to the Department for Promotion of Industry and Internal Trade (DPIIT) on Thursday, saying the practice is creating a non-competitive environment.

Madras High Court lawyer K Narasimhan claimed that the matter had been brought to his attention by sellers on Flipkart. He also attached a screenshot of the alleged communication from Flipkart and its other platform Shopsy as evidence.

Flipkart did not respond to the query sent in this regard.

"Flipkart has been running selective waivers at the product level, with clear communication to sellers regarding how these discounts will be funded. This communication explicitly states that a portion of the product discount will be subsidised through waivers, which directly influences the pricing of certain sellers, creating a skewed and non-competitive environment," Narasimhan said.

The letter was sent to the DPIIT Secretary Amardeep Singh Bhalla.

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In April, Narasimhan had filed a complaint against Flipkart and BigBasket for allegedly making delivery boys work on the day of general election voting in Tamil Nadu.

Ecommerce companies are barred from interfering with or influencing the price of products listed on their platform.

Narasimhan alleged that seller listings are being automatically opted into waiver-driven offers without their explicit consent.

Demanding action against the company, he said that the practice of Flipkart runs contrary to the principles of fair trade and such manipulations severely undermine the level playing field in the ecommerce space, stifling competition and hurting the broader seller ecosystem.

Ecommerce companies Flipkart, Amazon, Myntra etc have started their annual festive season sale.

The Confederation of All India Traders has urged the government to suspend the 'festival sales' events of Amazon and Flipkart, as they will further harm domestic traders through the continued use of anti-competitive practices.