New Delhi, Jan 25 (KNN) The Confederation of Indian Traders (CAIT) has written to the government, seeking a probe into all online businesses operating in India  such as Flipkart, Amazon, Zomato Swiggy and Oyo.

In a letter to Commerce Minister Piyush Goyal dated January 24, the traders association alleged that the common phenomenon in these companies of incurring huge yearly losses and earning revenues is not a healthy business practice.

“Not only their business models but their respective foreign investments and its disbursal, aspect of avoidance of GST & Income Tax revenue and probabilities of burning cash by them should also be investigated,” said Praveen Khandelwal, National Secretary General of CAIT.

In its letter, CAIT has also asked Goyal to roll out the national ecommerce policy immediately. Additionally, it has also requested him to set up a regulatory authority or an ecommerce ombudsman so that the online marketplaces work ethically in the country.

The nationwide traders’ association has mentioned a name of 16 companies namely, Amazon, Flipkart, Paytm, Oyo, Big Basket, Grofers, Zomato, Swiggy, Ola, Delhivery, Lenskart, Pepperfry, Rivigo, Make My Trip, PhonePay and Medlife, along with their annual revenue versus loss figures.

“What kind of business model is this where the business is accruing losses every year? If this is the e commerce model, it is always better to say a big NO to e commerce in India or else the Government should take immediate effective steps to remove anomalies, disparities and mal practices in E Commerce business, Khandelwal said.

CAIT has been long demanding the roll-out of a robust e-commerce policy in the country and set up either a regulatory authority or an e-commerce ombudsman to ensure healthy and competitive business by e-tailers, and price parity between the two channels.

''The traders of the country are not against e-commerce, but are adopting e commerce as an additional business beside their physical stores. However, the big companies in e commerce have highly distorted the e commerce market for their own gains which needs to be tackled by the Government immediately,'' it added.

---------------------