Walmart-Flipkart deal: Traders to protest against US retailer’s acquisition of Indian e-commerce giant on 2 July

New Delhi: Traders’ body CAIT on Monday said it will hold protests at 1,000 places across the country on 2 July against US retail giant Walmart’s proposed acquisition of 77 percent stake in home-grown retailer Flipkart in a $16 billion deal. The Confederation of All India Traders (CAIT) took the decision on Monday at its two-day National Governing Council meeting at Ahmedabad. [caption id=“attachment_4463119” align=“alignleft” width=“380”] Walmart CEO Doug McMillan and Flipkart co-founder Binny Bansal. Courtesy: Flipkart.[/caption] The traders’ body passed a resolution at the conference asking the government to reject the deal. It demanded formulation of an e-commerce policy and setting up of a Regulatory Authority for the country’s e-commerce sector. In a statement, CAIT Secretary General Praveen Khandelwal said: “This time we shall be pursuing the matter with both ED (Enforcement Directorate) and Reserve Bank of India so that e-commerce companies including Flipkart and its new owner Walmart should not escape from the liability of mal-practices, predatory pricing and deep discounting.” CAIT claimed that “e-commerce platforms are grossly and openly flouting Press Note 3 of FDI Policy issued on 29 March, 2016”. The commerce and industry ministry notifies FDI policies through press notes. Press Note 3, which was released in 2016, enlists guidelines for foreign direct investment in e-commerce sector. It also articulated that no discounting is allowed and that no inventory ownership directly or indirectly is allowed by e-commerce marketplaces.