Remove FDI ban from retail e-commerce: Assocham

Industry body Assocham has asked the government to remove the ban on foreign direct investment in retail e-commerce business.

Assocham Secretary General D S Rawat has written to Telecom and IT Minister Kapil Sibal seeking his support in removing current restriction on Business-to-Consumer (B2C) e-commerce.

As per the present norms, e-commerce companies engaged in business-to-business trade, like selling materials or bulk product to business firms are allowed to infuse up to 100 per cent FDI in their company.

In December 2012, a leading Indian e-commerce firm had come under scanner of Enforcement Directorate for alleged violation of the present FDI norms.

Rawat said that estimated revenue from this sector is expected to be about USD 15 billion by 2015 and can lead to wider reach of farmers and other domestic product firms, helping them realise better value of their products.

Besides, consumers will have more choices even in the remotest locations of the country.

Rawat cited the example of China, which has allowed over 500 Chinese companies to export through global websites.

"It does not create conflict with small retailers and kirana shops," he said.

Rawat said that FDI permit in B2C e-commerce segment will attract investment in back-end infrastructure of companies in country which in trun will create multiple job opportunities.

"Customer care, IT and IT enabled services, warehousing... administration for e-commerce have been estimated to create over 1 million additional jobs by 2021," he added.

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