The industry watchdog, Competition Commission of India (CCI) has warned the e-commerce platforms to exercise more transparency in their work to avoid facing any consequences. Prior to this, CCI also asked the e-commerce platforms to self regulate themselves.
At a law conference organised by the PHD Chamber of Commerce and Industry, CCI Chairman Ashok Kumar Gupta said that the e-commerce platforms have to be more transparent in their working especially on the search ranking, use of consumer data, rating of entities.
He further emphasised that the CCI can take up cases suo moto or on its own if the concerns related to the adverse impact of these practices on market competition are not addressed by e-commerce players voluntarily.
For the past several months, offline traders and mobile retailers have been protesting against exclusive sales tie-ups and availability of certain mobile phones online only.
In a market study by CCI released on January 8, it has been defined that CCI can also initiate cases on its own against instances of unfair practice or abuse of dominance.
The study had also recommended self-regulation and to have clear policies on discounts, explaining the basis of the discount rates funded by platforms and the implications of such schemes.
