Traders unhappy with Modi government and feel neglected, says CAIT

The Confederation of All India Traders (CAIT), in a reversal from its earlier stand, has announced that traders have become disillusioned with the government. It has attributed its displeasure to the economic downturn, and indifferent attitude of ministers/officials towards domestic trade.

Consequently, the CAIT has called a meeting of the National Governing Council in Patna on March 5-6, to deliberate on the current business scenario and decide on its future strategy. Bihar is set to go to polls this year.

“After the BJP government came to power, traders had great hope that the attitude of the government towards traders would change. However, nothing has changed and traders remain neglected as ever before,” it said in a statement on Sunday.

It added that traders remain “very impressed with Modi's positive attitude and thinking towards the traders and small industries".

Over the past 6 years, CAIT has repeatedly backed the BJP in state and national elections, and has become an instrumental player in the corridors of power, lobbying keenly on policies governing retail, e-commerce, and foreign direct investments, among others.

B C Bhartia, national president of CAIT, and Praveen Khandelwal, secretary general, said the executive wing of the government is intentionally neglecting traders’ issues. Traders say the CAIT and other organisations had led several campaigns across the country to support Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s policies — including Digital India, Skill India, adoption of digital payments, and GST.

Stepping up its attack, the CAIT also said that despite several problems caused by demonetisation, traders supported the government in its efforts to fight black money.

CAIT has issued a long list of demands that remain pending. On GST, it has pointed out that the system has become very complicated, duplicitous, and inefficient, calling it “mental torture”.

On the contentious issue of e-commerce, it has once again trained its guns on global digital giants, alleging that these are “destroying and devastating domestic trade”, and continue their alleged unethical business practices despite repeated warnings by the government.

It also called out the Enforcement Directorate for not releasing its report on the matter, two years after the body began probing certain e-commerce entities. Further, it argues that foreign direct investment norms continue to be violated. CAIT has also criticised Modi for the management of the Mudra scheme.

“It is true that trillions of rupees have been disbursed under the Mudra Yojana, but it is also a fact that the beneficiaries for whom the Mudra Yojana was introduced didn’t get the loan. This is why non-performing assets are increasing,” it said.

Khandelwal said there were fears over Modi not being given correct feedback about trade and business issues. He added that the contribution of the corporate sector to GDP remained a low 15 per cent, despite the attention given by ministers.

CAIT urges PM not to concede any ground to Walmart, e-commerce firms

Confederation of All India Traders (CAIT) wrote to the Prime Minister after Walmart CEO Doug McMillon raised issues concerning data privacy and regulatory stability for the e-commerce sector and urged Modi to reduce the number of licences and permits for the opening of new stores.

Global retail giant Walmart, which has invested $16 billion in Flipkart, is facing challenges after the foreign direct investment rules for e-commerce marketplaces were changed by the government through a revised policy on FDI in online retail.

In the letter, CAIT Secretary General Praveen Khandelwal said: "These kind of rhetorics by global players are nothing but a pressure tactic to find a headway into the large existing business potential of India's Rs 45 lakh crore retail market..."

He also accused e-commerce firms of attempting to directly control India's economy by indulging in 'unfair and monopolistic' business practices.

"We urge you not to concede any ground to these unscrupulous corporates or buckle to the pressure which they are attempting to create for their own personal gains by disregarding the sanctity of India's well defined laws and policies," Khandelwal said.

He exuded confidence that the Prime Minister will prioritise the interests of seven crore traders across the country and ensure that these foreign companies comply strictly with the laws and policies of the government in letter and spirit.

CAIT meets Amazon and Flipkart officials again, no conclusion reached

Members of traders body Confederation of All India Traders (CAIT) met with senior officials of e-commerce giants Amazon and Flipkart in the capital on Friday, but the discussions did not reach a conclusion on the contentious issues that have been going back and forth for a while.

The Department for Promotion of Industry and Internal Trade additional secretary Shailendra Singh, CAIT secretary general Praveen Khandelwal, Flipkart chief operating officer Rajneesh Kumar and Amazon India Marketplace Vice President Gopal Pillai were among the ones who attended the meeting.

"We had an open and transparent interaction CAIT. We truly welcome the opportunity to share the success of hundreds of thousands of sellers on our marketplace. We offered our commitment to help onboard CAIT traders to be part of the digital economy and reach customers across india and worldwide. We thank the Ministry of Commerce & Industry and particularly the Hon'ble Commerce and Industries Minister for this forward looking initiative," an Amazon spokersperson said about the meeting.

Khandelwal said CAIT placed evidence of predatory pricing, deep discounting, controlling inventory by portals, exclusivity and violation of foreign direct investment policy of the Government by both Amazon and Flipkart.

Because both e-commerce firms denied these allegations, CAIT is planning to once again approach Commerce Minister Piyush Goyal and ask for to ask for an independent audit of Amazon and Flipkart's business models.

CAIT is also planning to write to all big brands and ask them to clarify their position on the claims of Amazon and Flipkart that brands listed on their platforms have been offering discounts and the platforms are not influencing prices.

"If need be the CAIT will not hesitate to approach Competition Commission of India or route of Court to make brands clarify their position. Whoever is giving deep discount must be flouting one or the other law or policy and CAIT will seek action against them," CAIT said in a statement.

Among the other issues raised by CAIT are offline traders selling their goods through their own online portals or websites, and some of the online products not being available with them offline. CAIT has said this practice is anti-competitive and unethical under the FDI policy.

In a recent interview, Amit Agarwal, Amazon's senior Vice President and country head had said, "There is nothing like an offline retail or an online retail, just like there is nothing like an offline or an online customers. There is a customer and there is a business. Interest of a small business is to maximise their returns."

The Friday meeting comes in quick succession after one round of meetings among the same stakeholders on Thursday.