Amazon shipping non-essentials in Maharashtra, Twitterati allege

In what gave the impression to be a smear marketing campaign towards US e-commerce large Amazon, a number of customers on Twitter alleged on Sunday that it was violating lockdown norms in Maharashtra by shipping non-essential objects.

The subject “Amazon Defies Protocols” was trending with just below 4,000 tweets late on Sunday evening on the micro-blogging platform, with a number of customers supporting native merchants who had been compelled to shutter their companies in the course of the ongoing lockdown-like restrictions within the state.

A search by ET confirmed that the e-commerce market was transport “non-essential” items reminiscent of laptops, charging cables, work and study-from-home furnishings to pin codes in Maharashtra.

Rivals Flipkart and Reliance Digital have been additionally discovered to be promoting some objects that had not been categorised as important items – largely laptops, tablets, cables and chargers – which the e-commerce trade has beforehand argued as important.

On its web site, Reliance Digital mentioned that it was delivering “important electronics” together with laptops, tablets, headphones and private care merchandise to clients in Maharashtra inside 2-3 days.

“The Maharashtra authorities themselves are being obscure. They’ve requested us to promote no matter we really feel is crucial merchandise, so every of the gamers has interpreted it in their very own means,” an govt at one of many main e-commerce marketplaces, who pleaded anonymity given the controversy surrounding the difficulty, mentioned.

The state authorities’s April 13 tips mentioned e-commerce firms can be allowed to perform “just for the provision of important items and companies”.

The rules, nonetheless, didn’t present additional readability on what constituted important and non-essential items.

Amazon, Flipkart and Reliance Ltd didn’t reply to ET’s queries searching for remark until press time on Sunday.

The e-commerce trade has argued that the excellence between important and non-essential objects was subjective and that with extra customers being at house, research and work-from-home enablers have been additionally important merchandise, other than meals, groceries and private care merchandise.

ET reported earlier that the e-commerce trade had approached the Division for Promotion of Trade and Inside Commerce (DPIIT) searching for intervention in Maharashtra.

In a letter, an trade grouping had requested the DPIIT to make sure that ecommerce is allowed to perform “with none discrimination… in Maharashtra.”

ET had reviewed the contents of the letter.