Availability of cheap internet makes India an attractive market for e-tailers (representational image)

Highlights Government has warned of probe to find if any e-commerce violations

Questionnaire sent to Amazon, Flipkart asking details about sellers

E-tailers typically announce discounts to spur sales in festival season

E-commerce majors Amazon India and Flipkart have been asked to reveal the top sellers on their platforms. A detailed questionnaire has been sent to Amazon and Flipkart by the government, sources told NDTV. The development comes days after Commerce Minister Piyush Goyal suggested an investigation on e-commerce players to check any violation of norms, saying: "E-commerce firms have no right to discount products and use predatory pricing to dominate retail sales." E-tailers typically announce discounts in their separate limited-period sales to spur sales during the festival season.

"Amazon has a high bar for compliance and we continue to comply with all applicable laws of the land. Amazon.in is a third party marketplace where sellers offer their products to customers for sale," an Amazon India spokesperson said.

"Sellers on amazon.in have the absolute discretion to decide what products to sell and at their prices. Amazon cannot and does not participate in seller's decision related to their products and its prices,” the spokesperson added.

Queries sent to Flipkart remained unanswered. Last week, Flipkart had said it was compliant with all applicable laws after the Commerce Minister's comments hinted at a probe into alleged predatory pricing in the e-commerce space.

Amazon.in and Flipkart announced record transactions on their respective platforms earlier this month.

In just five days of the first edition of its "Great Indian Festival" sale, Amazon said it received orders from 99.4 per cent of pincodes in the country.

Similarly, Flipkart said that during its six-day "Big Billion Days" sale, it registered an almost 50 per cent increase in the number of new customers compared with the previous year.

According to market research firm Forrester, online retailers in India are expected to generate about $4.8 billion in sales from September 25 to October 29.

The availability of affordable internet and smartphones makes India an attractive market for companies such as Flipkart and Amazon, according to analysts.

(With inputs from agencies)