E-commerce companies demand extension of curfew passes

Fearing extension of the ongoing lockdown, e-commerce companies have asked the government to extend the validity of the digital curfew passes for six months and include IT products such as laptop and mobile phones in the list of essentials items.

E-commerce firms including Flipkart, Amazon, Bigbasket and Grofers and sellers on their platforms are talking to the government and raised concerns in regard to their operation issues, said a Business Standard report.

They have sought extension of the digital curfew passes for six months as it will allow them time to manage their stock smoothly and avoid time-consuming process to acquire the passes from local authorities.

The e-commerce firms have asked the government to enable each state to provide the passes.

"If the lockdown is extended by two more weeks, then again you have to run to collect the passes," added the report quoting an executive at an e-commerce company.

Besides, the e-commerce firms have also requested the centre to include IT products including computers and mobile phones as part of essential items as they reportedly witness a significant surge in demand.

Though, the government has not taken any decision in this regard.

The ongoing 21-days nationwide lockdown, which was imposed on March 24, will end on April 14. With the rise of Covid-19 cases across the country, several state governments are asking the central government to extend the lockdown.

Meanwhile, the lockdown has hurt the e-comm firms with supply chain disruptions, limited consumer spending and non-availability of items. It has reduced e-comm industry robust growth rate to a single-digit.

According to market research firm Forrester, e-comm is expected to witness a loss of around a billion-dollar during this lockdown due to supply chain disruptions, limited consumer spending and non-availability of items.