Amazon key seller Cloudtail found guilty of profiteering

The National Anti-profiteering Authority has found the online seller Cloudtail– partly owned by Amazon Asia – guilty of profiteering to the tune of Rs 10.8 lakh through sale of printer cartridges at a higher base price after Goods and Services Tax (GST) rates were reduced in November, 2017. This neutralised the benefit that should have accrued to consumers, the order said, and asked the company to deposit the profiteered amount to the consumer welfare fund with 18% interest.

During the hearing, Cloudtail said it was a retailer selling products manufactured by other vendors, and argued that it had no control over the maximum retail price (MRP) affixed by the manufacturer or importer.