The Competition Commission of India (CCI) has brought in new rules to stop unfair pricing in the e-commerce and quick-commerce industries.
These rules aim to address problems with practices like ‘zero-pricing’ used by major online platforms.
Purpose of the New Rules
CCI introduced these rules due to growing concerns about pricing methods in the fast-growing online and quick delivery sectors. The goal is to make the market more balanced and fair for all players.
Flexible Cost Calculations
CCI will now be able to use different cost-based methods while investigating pricing cases.
These include average total cost, average avoidable cost, or long-term average incremental cost. The method used will depend on the industry and how complicated the case is.
Fairness in Investigations
Companies under investigation will now be allowed to question how their costs are calculated.
They can do this by hiring independent experts, though they must cover the cost themselves.
This step shows stricter monitoring of aggressive pricing and gives small businesses a better chance to compete with large companies.
Complaint by Distributor Group
The All India Consumer Products Distributors Federation (AICPDF) had filed a complaint with the CCI.
They asked the regulator to look into the pricing methods used by large e-commerce and quick-commerce platforms.
AICPDF claimed that these platforms were using unfair tactics, like offering very high discounts.
Rapid Growth of Quick Commerce in India
According to Global Data, a top data and analytics firm, quick commerce is expanding quickly in India.
Urban consumers are relying more on fast delivery services for daily items. Because of this high demand, more quick-commerce services are launching, driving rapid growth in the sector.
