Gujarat High Court has issued a notice to the state Government on a petition filed by the online retail major Flipkart against the entry tax in the state on the goods bought through the e-commerce portals.
According to a report in PTI: The division bench of Chief Justice R Subhash Reddy and Justice V M Pancholi scheduled the next hearing for June 9.
Flipkart has claimed the tax is discriminatory, because no such tax is imposed on the goods brought into Gujarat thorough other modes of sale.
It moved the HC after the Gujarat Government amended the law to levy entry tax on goods purchased through e-commerce portals, apparently to provide a level-playing field to the traders and retailers in the state.
The Gujarat Tax on Entry of Specified Goods into Local Areas (Amendment) Bill, 2016, was passed on March 31. Now 15 per cent entry tax is levied on the online purchases.
Flipkart’s contention is it does not sell any product itself but only provides an online platform to manufacturers/ traders, so the tax is unjustified.
The new law amends the word importer to cover those who bring or facilitate to bring any specified goods for consumption, use or sale in Gujarat from any part of the country using online platforms.
Flipkart’s Bansals make it to Time 100 list
Binny Bansal and Sachin Bansal, the founder duo of Flipkart have made it to the annual list of Time magazine, where they have been placed among the 100 most influential people in the world.
“This acknowledgment validates that the path we have chosen of creating a world-class Indian internet company that delivers quality products and reliable service at an affordable price to millions of families across India,” Flipkart released a statement, quoted by IANS as saying.
Time 100, the annual list of the 100 most influential people in the American world said, “Binny and Sachin do have modest lifestyles, by billionaire standards, but they’re also nimble tacticians and hardheaded realists, and they dream big.”
“The Bansals were included in the list under the ‘Titan’ section with company from Yuri Milner, Pope Francis, Stephen Curry, Pricilla Chan, Mark Zuckerberg, Dwayne Johnson and others,” Flipkart added to the statement, quoted by IANS as saying.
Trendstalk for local traders
Flipkart, the country’s largest e-commerce marketplace has launched Trendstalk’s Autumn Winter 2016-17 edition. This would enable the local traders to sell their products at par with global brands.
Trendstalk, the seller learning portal, will introduce local sellers to the global fashion trends. It will also forecast in partnering with WGSN, which is a trend authority for fashion and the creative industries.
Assembling the real-time information from WGSN, Flipkart will endeavour the sellers with top class global trend analytics. This will guide the sellers with actionable insights on the up coming trends which are gaining popularity in the market.
Flipkart will also associate with 30 NIFT designers, alongwith independent fashion consultants who would develop design illustrations and tech packs for sellers of apparel category.
“The launch of Trendstalk last year made fashion insights more accessible to our seller base. Over 50 sellers have adopted this platform and have created 2000 styles, which are currently available on Flipkart,” VP Fashion Flipkart, Rishi Vasudev was quoted by ANI as saying.
Further to the above quoted Vasudev added, “We will not only democratize fashion for all small and medium sized sellers but also guide sellers to make their own mark in the online space. Initiatives like these offer sellers the opportunity to understand the evolving fashion industry and streamline their collections to suit the needs of every customer.”
“The WGSN and Flipkart association will help the sellers to understand global trends ahead of season and create their product with confidence for the right market and at the right time. WGSN will ensure they have insights that are accurate and as actionable as possible,” Business Director, South Asia WGSN, Priya Sachdev was quoted by ANI as saying.
The investment is part of the previously announced financing round, where Flipkart had raised capital from three of the world’s premier technology companies - Tencent, eBay and Microsoft
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