Clarified e-commerce FDI norms will not impact stability, predictability: government official

NEW DELHI: The clarified norms on foreign direct investment (FDI) in e-commerce have not impacted the stability and predictability of the country’s regulatory environment as there is no change in laws, a senior official said on Thursday.

The official said that the Department of Industrial Policy and Promotion (DIPP) has not investigated any violations on its own but clarified the norms based on the information it received, it is upto the Enforcement Directorate to investigate and take action against those who violate the rules.

“There is no message to the foreign investors, only government policy has been clarified. There are no new laws,” the official said and explained that enough time has been given to businesses to make a transition.


The DIPP on Wednesday tightened the policy for e-commerce platforms like Amazon and Flipkart by prohibiting an entity related by equity to the e-commerce platform from doing business on the site. It restricted vendors from buying more than 25% of their inventory from the platform and its group companies, besides banning exclusive launches.

These provisions will take effect from 1 February, 2019.

“Overnight we can’t stop them or expect them to change their business. So, we have given them enough time till February,” the official said.