Commerce minister Piyush Goyal may meet top ecommerce executives on Wednesday

economictimes.indiatimes.com:

quick commerce platforms for consultations before finalising its much-awaited National Ecommerce Policy, several people aware of the matter told ET. Commerce minister Piyush Goyal is expected to meet top executives of Amazon, Flipkart, Meesho, Shiprocket and Swiggy among others, they added. Goyal is also the minister of consumer affairs, food and public distribution.

The department of consumer affairs recently sought data from online grocers and quick commerce companies to understand their business models. Specific information was sought on seller patterns, private label sales, ownership of dark stores in case of quick commerce startups as well as details about discounting and platform algorithms, people in the know said. “This is on the lines of what was sought by the government from online marketplaces such as Flipkart and Amazon earlier...the government wants to understand the business models of these companies and to figure out whether they are in compliance with FDI (foreign direct investment) norms,” said one person cited above.

The Department for Promotion of Industry and Internal Trade (DPIIT) initiated inter-ministerial consultations for the ecommerce policy in June. The government has been working on the policy since 2018 and had even floated a draft in 2019. Queries sent to the department of consumer affairs and the DPIIT did not elicit a response till the time of going to press.Questions over quick commerce The department’s move follows concerns over whether quick commerce platforms are in compliance with local laws, the sources said.