India minister accuses Amazon, e-commerce firms of predatory pricing

India's commerce minister accused Amazon and other e-commerce companies of predatory pricing practices and said the sector's rapid rise should not disrupt millions of brick-and-mortar stores operating in the country.

Amazon and Walmart's Flipkart have reshaped India's retail landscape in recent years, with both companies investing billions of dollars to expand and get consumers to their platforms which offer lucrative discounts.

Indian regulations prohibit Amazon and Flipkart from stocking goods and selling directly to consumers, and they can only operate a marketplace for other sellers to offer products. However, small retailers have often alleged that the regulations are bypassed using complicated business structures.

Commerce Minister Piyush Goyal on Wednesday signalled out Amazon's business practices and said the company's investments in India have often been used to cover its business losses.

Goyal, however, did not provide any evidence to substantiate the claim.

"When Amazon says we are going to invest a billion dollars in India and we all celebrate, we forget the underlying story that the billion dollars is not coming in for any great service," Goyal said at an event in New Delhi, where he did not name any other company.

Do the losses "not smell of predatory pricing to any of you ... what was that loss for, they are not allowed to sell to consumers (directly)," he added.

Amazon and Flipkart did not respond to requests for comment.

Amazon and Flipkart are also facing an antitrust investigation in India but deny any wrongdoing.