eBay India not looking for changes in FDI policy

India’s top e-commerce company eBay India is not pushing for any changes in the foreign direct investment (FDI) policy guiding the sector, its top official has said.

This indicates that the company, which is a 100 per cent subsidiary of its US-based parent, wants to continue operating in India using the market-place model where FDI is already allowed and is not keen on selling its own products.

“We did not discuss the FDI policy (on e-commerce) at all as eBay does not get affected by the policy,” the company CEO Latif Nathani told the media after a meeting with Commerce & Industry Minister Nirmala Sitharaman on Tuesday.

A number of global e-commerce companies, including US-based Amazon, are lobbying with the Indian Government for opening up the sector to FDI. At present, 100 per cent FDI is allowed only in market-based operations of e-commerce companies where an online platform is offered to other vendors to sell their products in return for a commission.

Nathani said the issue of taxation afflicting some foreign players (like Amazon) operating in India also does not bother eBay as it has only market-based operations in the country.

The company is looking at expanding its operations in India and is bullish on mobile commerce. “We have recently launched new products on mobile web and mobile app. Mobile is a big area for us. We are also working in Tier-2, Tier-3 cities with about 50,000 sellers, many of them artisans and making handicrafts,” Nathani said. He added that eBay continues to be bullish on India. It could also work with the Government on its ‘Make in India’ campaign as it had access to 150 million buyers across 200 countries. “I discussed with the Minister that eBay could be a great platform in terms of exposing Indian products, including those made by its artisans in smaller cities, across the world,” Nathani said.

On whether he gave the Minister any inputs on the Government’s efforts at bringing more clarity in rules guiding e-commerce, the CEO said the matter did not come up for discussion.

Responding to how the company planned to deal with competition posed by other players such as Flipkart, Nathani said that competition expanded the market and brought more people online. “People are getting to understand the benefits of e-commerce and that is great for everybody,” he said.