Protests against foreign e-commerce companies may lead to another wave of strikes in India

Last Friday, India's CAIT called on Indian merchants to unite to protest against the revised terms of GST (Goods and Services Tax) and unfair competition from foreign e-commerce companies. In response to CAIT's call, strikes occurred in large areas of India, with stores closed and trucks and freight vehicles stopped.

Traders body CAIT on Sunday said it will conduct a nationwide protest against issues related to GST ( goods and services tax ) and alleged unfair competition by foreign e-commerce companies . The movement will start from March 5 and continue till April 5 .

The protest movement may lead to another wave of strikes in India, with stores closing and transport vehicles stopping across the country again.

In the short term, the nationwide strike in India will seriously affect the daily lives of the Indian people. The closure of offline stores will force Indian consumers to turn to online shopping platforms to purchase daily necessities. Therefore, for cross-border e-commerce sellers, this is a good opportunity to increase orders.

The protest will start on March 5 and last until April 5. Sellers can prepare some consumable daily necessities, such as toiletries (soap, hand sanitizer), packaged foods (biscuits, instant noodles, puffed foods), etc.

In the long run, this protest movement will have a certain impact on the Indian government's decision on GST and foreign e-commerce companies such as Amazon India and Flipkart, and will indirectly affect cross-border e-commerce sellers.

In order to increase fiscal revenue and accelerate the pace of economic recovery, the Indian government increased the tax rate in the revised Goods and Services Tax regulations. However, due to factors such as the skyrocketing prices of raw materials and the rapid depreciation of the rupee, India's small and medium-sized enterprises were already struggling, and this move added fuel to the fire, causing dissatisfaction among domestic trade practitioners.

Amazon India and Flipkart, e-commerce companies backed by large international groups, sell goods at extremely low prices on their platforms, greatly reducing the price competitiveness of ordinary offline merchants. The survival of India's small and medium-sized enterprises is seriously threatened.

In order to protect the interests of domestic small and medium-sized enterprises, CAIT launched this protest. As a result, the Indian government may reconsider amending the GST tax law, and foreign e-commerce companies such as Amazon India and Flipkart will also be subject to stricter supervision and review, and sellers on the platform may also be subject to more restrictions.

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