The government on Thursday said it will not extend the deadline of February 1 for implementing the revised guidelines for e-commerce companies having foreign direct investment. The Department for Promotion of Industry and Internal Trade (DPIIT) said it had received some representations to extend the deadline of February 1, 2019 to comply with the conditions contained in the Press Note 2 of 2018 series on FDI policy in e-commerce.

"After due consideration, it has been decided, with the approval of the competent authority, not to extend the deadline," it said in a statement.

Both Amazon and Walmart-owned Flipkart have sought an extension of the February 1 deadline for complying with the revised norms, stating that they need more time to understand the details of the new framework.

While Amazon has asked for time until June 1 this year, Flipkart has asked for six months. Both the e-commerce giants showed their displeasure regarding the government's decision.

“We are disappointed that the government has decided to implement the regulation changes at such haste, but we are committed to doing everything we can to be compliant with the new rules," a Flipkart spokesperson said in a statement. Flipkart has told the government the company faces the risk of "significant customer disruption" if the implementation of new curbs for e-commerce is not delayed by six months.

Amazon said that the policy will affect price selection and convenience for customers and sellers. "There is much uncertainty on the impact of government rule changes on ecommerce," CFO Brian Olsavsky said on the call. "We remain committed to complying to the rules, but we are evaluating the situation. The main concern is trying to minimize impact on consumers and sellers."

Amazon India brought swift changes to its platform overnight on Thursday to comply under the new rules, with its seller entities Cloudtail and Appario virtually disappearing from the platform, and several of its private label products also missing

On December 26, 2018, the government tightened norms for e-commerce firms and barred online retailers like Flipkart and Amazon from selling products of the companies in which they have stake.

The government also prohibited e-commerce companies from entering into an agreement for exclusive sale of products. As per the revised guidelines, a vendor cannot procure more than 25 percent of products from group companies of the same marketplace where they intend to sell them.

Domestic traders body Confederation of All Indian Traders (CAIT) had asked the ministry not to extend the deadline for implementation of the changes.

First Published:Jan 31, 2019 6:47 PM IST