Online sellers call for e-commerce regulator in India

The All India Online Vendors Association (AIOVA), which represents the interests of the smaller Indian online vendors, drafted a petition calling for the developments of frameworks to protect sellers and buyers and creation of a national e-commerce regulator. AIOVA complains that e-commerce platforms including Flipkart, Amazon, and Snapdeal have been violating existing norms.

The petition was delivered to Prime Minister Narendra Modi, and the Ministers of finance and of commerce and industries. It argues that small and medium sellers are being treated unfavourably by marketplaces who, allegedly, favour larger online retailers. They call for a competitive market for all players, the adoption of rules that would prevent cartelisation and monopolies, the creation of accounting and auditing standards and the disclosure of norms to prevent scams.