E-commerce firms shouldn’t offer steep discounts: CCI ahead of Bezos’ visit

Big e-commerce firms should not offer steep discounts, must disclose discounting policies and ensure they do not drive brick-and-mortar rivals out of business, India’s antitrust chief said as his commission launched a probe into Amazon.com and Walmart’s Flipkart.

The remarks come ahead of a visit by Amazon’s CEO Jeff Bezos to India this week – one likely to marked by much tension with the country’s small business owners planning protests in 300 cities as they step up their campaign against what they see as unfair business practices.

In particular, the shopkeepers accuse the two U.S. giants of indulging in heavy discounts and giving preferential treatment to select sellers.