Amazon and Flipkart have vowed not to sell fake makeup products on their respective platforms. According to a report in Mint, in a meeting with the drug regulator, both Amazon and Flipkart have committed to prevent sales of “unregulated and fake cosmetics”.
Representatives from online retailers met officials of the Drug Controller General of India (DCGI) on 1 November, after they were served show cause notices in October for selling cosmetics in contravention to the provisions of Drugs and Cosmetics Act, 1940, the report said.
Amazon and Flipkart were found to have been selling “adulterated” and “unregulated” cosmetics on their websites, according to DCGI.
Meanwhile, to Amazon India and Flipkart's relief, fair trade watchdog CCI has concluded that the business practices of Flipkart and Amazon are not in violation of competition norms and rejected allegations of abuse of market dominance made by a grouping of online vendors.
Amid concerns expressed in various quarters about alleged unfair business ways in the fast-growing online market place, the CCI in its ruling also made it clear that any intervention in the evolving e-commerce market place needs to be "carefully crafted" to ensure that innovations are not stifled.
The latest ruling from the Competition Commission of India (CCI) has come on a complaint filed by the All India Online Vendors Association, a grouping of over 2,000 sellers on various e-commerce market places.
The allegations were made against Flipkart India Pvt Ltd, which is into wholesale trading/distribution of books, mobiles, computers and related accessories, and Flipkart Internet Pvt Ltd. The latter is engaged in e-commerce marketplace business under the brand name Flipkart.com, as per details available with the CCI.
To assess the merits of the complaint, CCI considered 'services provided by online marketplace platforms for selling goods in India' as the relevant market.
In its order, dated November 6, the watchdog said that looking at the present market construct and structure of online marketplace platforms in India, "it does not appear that any one player in the market is commanding any dominant position at this stage of evolution of market".
