People move past a hoarding of Amazon India outside a metro rail station in New Delhi, India, October 23, 2019. — Reuters pic
India only allows foreign e-commerce players to operate as a marketplace to connect buyers and sellers. It prohibits them from holding inventories of goods and directly selling them on their platforms. The changes could hurt Amazon as it holds indirect equity stakes in two of its biggest online sellers in India.Yogesh Baweja, the spokesman for the Ministry of Commerce and Industry, which is working on the issue, confirmed to Reuters any changes will be announced through a so-called “press note,” which contains foreign direct investment rules. He did not give any details.
India’s e-commerce retail market is seen growing to US$200 billion a year by 2026, from US$30 billion in 2019, the country’s investment promotion agency Invest India estimates. In the face of growing trader complaints and an antitrust investigation, Goyal last year said Amazon was not doing “a great favour to India” by making fresh investments.