DEA objects to the company's 29 Indian stores having sub-brands as a rule violation; DIPP doesn't agree.
The government eased investment rules for the retail sector on Thursday in a renewed attempt to attract foreign supermarket operators such as Wal-Mart Stores Inc and Tesco.
In what will be a historic decision, the Union Cabinet is likely to clear a policy paper that seeks to allow 51 per cent FDI in multi-brand retail trading and 100 per cent FDI in single-brand retail on Thursday.
Traders' body CAIT on Wednesday accused e-commerce major Amazon of indulging in serious contraventions of FDI policy and Foreign Exchange Management Act. The body also blamed the online firm for not seeking the government's approval for conducting multi-brand retail activities in India.
India's largest traders' association CAIT on Tuesday said few multinational e-commerce giants with a heavy arsenal of funding are attempting to flout foreign investment guidelines for the sector and demanded strict enforcement action. Releasing a whitepaper on the e-commerce policy, the Confederation of All India Traders (CAIT) said e-commerce entities have "structured their relationship as marketplace with sellers in a such a way that they are in a position to control either seller on their platform or the inventory and also escape the scrutiny of the enforcement agencies." "Under the guise of such control or ownership over sellers, the issue also permeates from being a mere FDI policy violation to also being an anti-competitive conduct," it said.
Tesco was the first global retailer to apply for multi- brand retailing in India.
Online retail in the country is expected to grow to $200 billion by 2026, up from $15 billion in 2016.
AAP, set to form the government in Delhi, had said it was opposed to foreign direct investment in multi-brand retail.
The Obama Administration is encouraged by recent steps taken by the governments of India and Pakistan to initiate closer trade and commercial ties.
The show-cause notice dated February 8 by DCGI V G Somani cited a Delhi high court order dated December 12, 2018, which prohibits online sales of medicines without a licence.
It also said that there is a need to improve investor confidence about the surrounding ecosystem in the country to attract more FDI inflows.
India Inc has expressed strong displeasure over the Delhi government's decision to withdraw approval to FDI in multi-brand retail, saying the move was likely to hinder foreign investments flowing into the country.
In effect, the government proposes to relax the norms with regard to foreign participation in multi-brand retail by opening up these specialised sectors, while keeping grocery and consumer goods retail out of bounds. The move comes months after the Left parties, which were opposed to any relaxation of FDI norms for the retail sector, pulled out of the United Progressive Alliance government.
'India has a lot of potential, not just in commercial aspects, but also in hiring of people and sourcing of products.'
In a major policy reversal, the AAP government wrote to the Centre to withdraw the approval given by the previous Sheila Dikshit government for FDI in multi-brand retailing in Delhi, saying the entry of global chains such as Walmart and Tesco in India would result in large-scale job losses.
We take a look at the differences and similarities in the manifestos released by different political parties
Goyal wondered why an e-commerce market place model, where a firm provides an IT platform for buyers and sellers, was incurring such huge losses adding that it needs to be looked into.
Changes in the multi-brand policy unlikely to help the entire retail sector.
International biggies might see a renewed interest in the country after Tesco's move to enter India.
The Walmart investigation is under the Foreign Corrupt Practices Act, and the company follows a global compliance programme in every country it operates in.
Latest 'clarifications' add to the confusion; foreigners may delay investments, and Indian firms will find it difficult to get investors.
In a major policy reversal, the AAP government wrote to the Centre to withdraw approval given by previous Congress government for FDI in multi-brand retailing in Delhi, saying the entry of global chains such as Walmart and Tesco in India would result in large-scale job losses.
US-based Walmart and UK-based Tesco have sought clarifications from the Department of Industrial Policy and Promotion on whether they could set up warehouses in states which are against the Centre's retail FDI policy.
After a five-day long visit, Apple CEO Tim Cook left India with a note that he can't wait to return to the country. The visit of Cook coincided with 25 years of the iPhone maker's presence in India. Cook arrived in India on Monday. The visit started with the launch of the first official Apple store in Mumbai on April 18 followed by a second in the national capital on April 20.
United Progressive Alliance's second largest partner Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam on Monday demanded reconsideration of the decision to allow FDI in the multi-brand retail sector and said it would back any opposition-sponsored resolution that may be brought on the issue in Parliament.
Attacking the government for its "hurried" decision allowing FDI in multi-brand retail, BJP today alleged said that despite strong objections from the Opposition it has been done under foreign elements' pressure and will affect the livelihood of Indians in retail trade.
The United States has welcomed the decision of the Parliament to allow Foreign Direct Investment in multi-brand retail, noting that this is a win-win for all from small businesses to farmers and consumers as well; besides deepening economic co-operation between the two countries.
International multi-brand retail chains have all pushed their India plans to 2013.
Refusing to give up on the Foreign Direct Investment in multi-brand retail issue, which could affect its core vote bank of small traders, the Bharatiya Janata Party on Monday said it will oppose the government decision in Parliament and try to build a joint strategy with National Democratic Alliance partners and other political parties.
A large number of states, including Congress-ruled Kerala, are opposing the decision on concerns that the entry of foreign retailers like Walmart would lead to displacement of the neighbourhood kirana stores.
On September 14, the government allowed 51 per cent foreign holdings by multi-brand retail chains with two caveats -- one foreign retail chains like Wal-Mart, Tesco, etc will be allowed to set up shops only in those cities with over 1 million population; and secondly, they can operate only in those states, which allow FDI in retail.
The government should stick to the recent clarifications released on FDI in multi-brand retail trading and not ease the conditions for foreign retailers.
Shares of Information technology companies extended losses for third day in a row
Ten states and Union Territories have endorsed the Centre's decision to allow FDI in multi-brand retail, Minister of State for Commerce and Industry Jyotiraditya Scindia said on Monday.
The question is not whether FDI in multi-brand retail is desirable or not, but whether the rules of conducting business in Parliament need to be reviewed.
Spanner may have been thrown in the government works on foreign direct investment in multi-brand retail.
Dismayed by the BJP's decision to say no to FDI in multi-brand retail in its election manifesto, India Inc has urged the party to reconsider its stand, saying the move may send a wrong signal to overseas investors.
The minister is on a two-day visit to Russia for India-Russia Business Dialogue, held under the umbrella of the St Petersburg International Economic Forum 2012.
The Bharatiya Janata Party on Saturday refused to accept Prime Minister Manmohan Singh's contention -- that no international pressure was behind the decision to allow FDI in multi-brand retail -- and alleged that he has done a U-turn on his own stance earlier.
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