Time For Strict Regulatory Action: Lok Sabha MP Praveen Khandelwal Slams Flipkart’s Move Curbing Sellers

Lok Sabha MP and Confederation of All India Traders (CAIT) chief Praveen Khandelwal slammed a fresh Flipkart policy which restricts sellers from setting their own product prices on the platform. The Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) legislator termed it as an instance of 'foreign e-commerce giant systematically suppressing Indian sellers' and said that it is time for 'strict regulatory enforcement.'

Outlook Business broke the story of the new Flipkart policy that sellers allege is a violation of the country’s foreign direct investment (FDI) rules.

“The time has come for strict regulatory enforcement. If these platforms are allowed to continue dictating pricing and undermining Indian sellers, it will severely harm India’s retail ecosystem,” said Khandelwal.

"The CCI and other regulatory bodies must intervene to ensure fair play in the e-commerce sector and protect the interests of millions of small and medium-sized businesses in India. CAIT will not allow foreign-funded e-commerce companies to trample upon the rights of Indian traders and will escalate this matter to the highest authorities, demanding justice for Indian sellers," he added.

The new Flipkart policy only allows sellers to set a ‘bank settlement value’—the amount they receive after deductions—while the final selling price is determined by the platform. This effectively forces sellers into price disparities across multiple platforms, such as Amazon, Swiggy Instamart, Zomato’s Blinkit, and Zepto, causing significant financial losses and operational challenges.

Khandelwal said that "Flipkart’s ability to arbitrarily set lower prices for certain products raises serious concerns as after this they will directly manipulate market competition.

In response to Outlook Business’s query on the move, Flipkart said earlier, “We have recently introduced some new initiatives for sellers on our platform to increase their profitability and the response has been very positive. By enabling sellers to see the settlement price, it has provided them visibility and clarity on their earnings, which has been well received by them.”

“In addition, we've seen that order cancellations and returns tend to be influenced by frequent price fluctuations which reduce profitability for sellers and lower customer experience. Our efforts aim to reduce these adverse effects by setting some guardrails that positively serve the interest of both sellers and customers”, added the ecommerce platform.