Eateries seek compliance by online food aggregators

Up in arms against online food aggregators for unfair business practices, the National Restaurant Association of India (NRAI) will make a representation to the ministry of commerce and industry on Tuesday seeking compliance under the FDI policy in ecommerce.

The NRAI delegation was scheduled to hold the meeting with officials of the Department for Promotion of Industry and Internal Trade on Monday that got postponed to Tuesday. The meeting pertains to the ministry’s recent FDI policy in ecommerce and specific points contained in Press Note 2 and its implications on the sector with presence of online food aggregators including Swiggy, Zomato, Food Panda and Uber Eats.

To recall, Swiggy has been facing boycott in Ahmedabad since a month now after talks with industry representatives failed. RAI alleges that the online aggregators that provide marketplace access to sellers are indulging in unfair and discriminatory practices that is detrimental to the industry and small businesses run by small and family entrepreneurs in particular.

ET has a copy of the presentation wherein NRAI alleges that food aggregators force small restaurant players to buy all services – logistics, collection and delivery of orders, payment collection from customers – as a pre-requisite for marketplace participation. It seeks that food aggregators should be made to unbundle their services and offer them as opt-in services to sellers.

No service should be forced upon by aggregators as a cost to participate in the basic marketplace, NRAI has demanded.

Source:-https://retail.economictimes.indiatimes.com/news/food-entertainment/food-services/eateries-seek-compliance-by-online-food-aggregators/68059641