India’s Bureau of Indian Standards (BIS) has intensified scrutiny of e-commerce giants Amazon and Flipkart, conducting raids on their warehouses in Delhi and seizing products that failed to meet quality control standards.
This follows similar inspections in Tamil Nadu earlier this month, where the agency found uncertified goods being stored and sold.
Amazon and Flipkart, a Walmart-owned company, dominate India’s e-commerce sector, which was valued at up to $60 billion in 2023 and is projected to surpass $160 billion by 2028. Amazon India stated that it is working closely with regulators and other stakeholders.
The BIS reported seizing various products, including geysers and food mixers worth approximately 7 million rupees ($81,561) from an Amazon subsidiary’s Delhi warehouse. The agency also confiscated nearly $7,000 worth of uncertified sports shoes from a Flipkart facility.
Some seized products either lacked the required quality control mark or carried counterfeit labels.
The crackdown adds to ongoing regulatory challenges for both companies in India. Last September, an antitrust investigation found Amazon and Flipkart in violation of competition laws, citing preferential treatment of select sellers. A 2021 Reuters report, based on internal Amazon documents, revealed that the company had strategically favored certain vendors to circumvent local regulations—allegations that Amazon has denied.
