DIPP circulates a draft of Cabinet note seeking ease in retail FDI norms

22 Jul 2013 Evaluate

Department of Industrial Policy and Promotion (DIPP), in order to accommodate some demands of global retailers such as Tesco and Walmart, has circulated the draft of a Cabinet note seeking views of different ministries to simplify Foreign direct investment (FDI) norms in multi-brand segment. DIPP has also urged all the concerned ministries including finance, consumer affairs and MSME to reply soon as it is likely to present final note for consideration of the Cabinet this week and if the Cabinet is unable to take any decision on the matter this week, then the politically sensitive issue will be considered only after the Monsoon session. The draft note has also sought comments on allowing global chains to open multi-brand stores in cities with population less than a million.

Last month in a meeting with Commerce and Industry Minister Anand Sharma global retailers like Walmart, Tesco, Carrefour and Indian players like Bharti Retail and Trent had asked for relaxation in the FDI norms in the multi-brand segment. The companies requested to make the sourcing rules in multi-brand retail similar to that of single-brand segment. They also asked foreign firms be allowed to put only 50 percent of the first tranche of the investment in back-end infrastructure.

DIPP has sought views on capping the minimum investment in back-end infrastructure to $50 million, allowing global retailers to open stores in cities with population less than 10 lakh, allowing FIIs in the sector and removing ambiguity regarding sourcing from SMEs after a unit crosses the $1 million investment mark.

Foreign retailers, according to current FDI policy, are permitted to open stores only in cities with a million-or-over population, while the conditions have been relaxed for hilly states such as Jammu and Kashmir and Assam. Meanwhile, 30 percent of products sold by single brand retailers, where 100 per FDI is allowed, are to be preferably sourced from small and medium enterprises (SMEs). On the other hand, in multi-brand segment, it is mandatory for the company to procure 30 percent from SMEs. But due to the various concerns raised by the foreign retailers no formal proposal has been received by the DIPP yet despite the go-ahead given nine months back.

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