CAIT WELCOME SITHARAMAN STATEMENT OF SAYING NO TO FDI IN RETAIL

DEMAND COMPREHENSIVE REVIEW OF FDI IN ALL RETAIL FORMATS

TRADE LEADERS CRUCIAL MEET ON JUNE 8 AT NAGPUR

The Confederation of All India Traders (CAIT) has welcomed the statement of Union Commerce Minister Mrs. Nirmala Sitharaman saying firmly no to FDI in Retail putting rest the speculations about stand of the Government on FDI in Retail. She made this statement while responding to questions of netizens during a 90-minute Talkathon yesterday.

In a communication sent today to Mrs. Sitharaman,the CAIT has also appreciated her announcement of bringing guidelines for E-Commerce and said that such guidelines must contain sufficient provisions to check business format of E Commerce Companies which are doing Business to Consumers i.e B2C activities in violation of FDI norms. The CAIT has also questioned the format of Wholesale Cash & Carry and demanded the Minister to institute a probe into the business model of all such Companies which are engaged in Wholesale Cash & Carry Activities. 

The CAIT while demanding withdrawal of current notification of FDI in Multi Brand Retail as per promise of BJP election manifesto and announcements made by senior BJP leaders before Loksabha polls urged the Minister for a comprehensive review of FDI policy in all formats of retail as the Companies involved in business activities in retail in different formats are flouting the FDI policy of the Government and have greatly distorted the retail trade of India.

It said that 100 % FDI is allowed E Commerce for Business to Business i.e. B2B purposes and such Companies can not do retail trading but in practice the E Commerce Companies on the one hand are receiving foreign funds and on the other hand they are selling products directly to consumers which is in violation of the FDI policy. These Companies are openly announcing retail sales by big advertisements but so far no step has been taken by the Government to check them.

The CAIT further said that under Wholesale Cash & Carry policy of the Government, the Companies can make sales only to entities who have requisite license or VAT registration from the Government but in reality even in this format too the Retail Chains are directly selling to consumers circumventing the policy. It is an open secret that any individual can walk into their stores and purchase any item of his choice.

The CAIT has urged the Minster to look in to the issue in its right earnest as it has wider ramifications on business of more than six crore small business in India which are providing employment to 46 crore people in the Country. The CAIT has convened a special meeting of Trade Leaders of all States of the Country on forthcoming 8th June at Nagpur to deliberate on this issue and GST as well and to chalk out future course of action.