The organisation is expected to meet Commerce Minister Suresh Prabhu and may urge him to do away with the gift policy
Swadeshi Jagran Manch (SJM), an affiliate of the Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh (RSS) has targeted various Chinese sellers on Amazon India, saying they are evading taxes that Indian sellers have to pay on the e-commerce portal, according to a report by The Times of India.
The Chinese sellers are using the international gift route to circumvent the tax payments, Ashwani Mahajan, co-convener of SJM told the newspaper.
Four gifts worth less than Rs 5,000 each per year per person are exempted from import duties. SJM claims that the Chinese sellers are reportedly marking each sale as a gift.
Mahajan plans to move the Commerce Ministry for the same, saying that this affects domestic sellers.
“It also sends a signal that the government is fine with losing import duty on these goods every year. We are going to recommend abolishing it,” a person aware of the development told the paper.
SJM is working with the All India Online Vendors Association (AIOVA).
Indian users can shop from Amazon’s US website through a global store, where all import duties are incorporated in the final price of the products. Chinese sellers do not have access to this store but are listed sellers on Amazon’s India marketplace.
“Amazon will always be compliant with local laws, have robust processes to ensure this and zero tolerance for any non-compliant seller,” an Amazon India spokesperson was quoted as saying by the newspaper.
However, report citing sources in the e-commerce giant adds that despite the company’s strong compliance mechanism for local laws, some sellers find loopholes to get unfair advantages.
Mahajan and other trade associations are expected to meet Commerce Minister Suresh Prabhu to discuss the issue. They may urge the ministry to do away with the gift policy.
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