Deep discounting not part of ease of doing business, govt tells e-tailers

Being allowed predatory discounting and a conducive business environment are not the same thing, the government plans to make this clear to digital commerce entities. In the e-commerce policy it is preparing, this point will be underlined, said sources in the commerce ministry.

‘Deep’ discounting has been a constant complaint of traders and offline (traditional) selling entities.

“E-commerce players keep saying that the business environment needs to improve; it should be more open, so that more foreign investment comes in. But when you do a deep dive, their main bone of contention is around the discounts and sales they hold, and the protests around it. These two things are completely different and in the e-commerce policy, we will make this clear. We, under no circumstances, will allow or condone predatory pricing,” said a senior in the ministry.