Government to not impose any regulation on e-tailers, unless consumer interests are compromised

With the festive season upon us, every online retailer is offering massive discounts. We all know how the Flipkart Big Billion Day fared, but there haven't been any major issues post it. Amazon's Diwali Dhamaka week, offered discounts but they weren't as high as the Flipkart sale. Other retailers such as Snapdeal, Myntra and so on are also offering deals throughout the Diwali period.While these massive discounts are certainly angering big brands, consumers can rest assured that there will be no regulations imposed on online retailers as far as the government is concerned, according to a report in DNA. The only exception being when consumer interests are compromised.A highly placed source in the finance ministry told the newspaper, "It is not the government's job to regulate businesses in a free-market economy. However, unfair trade practices will not be spared."On the Big Billion day sale, Flipkart sold products worth over Rs 600 crore. This had prompted a lot of organised retailers to approach the ministry of commerce, who accused the online retailers of unfair trade practices. According to the paper, commerce minister Nirmala Sitharaman has said that there are no government inquiries being planned to investigate the Flipkart Big Billion day.According to a retail consultancy firm quoted in the paper, the current India e-tail market is worth $2.3 billion and it is expected to grow to $32 billion by 2020 - which will still be 3 per cent of the overall retail market of $1000 billion.Disclaimer: Homeshop18 which is in competition with Flipkart, Snapdeal, Myntra, Amazon is owned by Network18, which also owns Firstpost.