Government of India extended nationwide lockdown till May 3rd 2020 to prevent the spread of coronavirus and as a result of lockdown, e-commerce companies were not selling non-essential goods like electronics. After making an announcement regarding the sales of electronic items starting April 20, the Government of India has now revised its guidelines.
E-commerce giants like Amazon and Flipkart will not be allowed to deliver “non-essential goods” which includes mobile phones, home appliances, and other electronics. The latest announcement by the Ministry of Home Affairs reads “Supply of non-essential goods by e-commerce companies to remain prohibited during #Lockdown2 to fight #COVID19.”
Flipkart, Amazon, and other e-commerce websites can still deliver essential items like grocery, food, medical items, etc. The order released by the Government today said the clause –“Vehicles used by e-commerce operators will be allowed to ply with necessary permissions” and is excluded from the lockdown guidelines, which means that these companies cannot deliver non-essentials during this lockdown period.
Shortly after yesterday’s order by the Government of India, Flipkart, Amazon, and earlier today, Mi.com started accepting new orders for electronic items. But now, abiding by the order, these companies have stopped accepting orders for “non-essential goods”.
We have just received an update from Ministry of Home Affairs suspending ecommerce services for non-essential items affecting our decision about https://t.co/D3b3QtmvaT.
We are understanding this in detail and will keep you updated. https://t.co/Fat7688efp
— Mi India (@XiaomiIndia) April 19, 2020
Similarly, realme also announced the launch of Narzo 10 and Narzo 10A on April 21st, 2020. The company has said that it is evaluating the situation and decision about the launch and online sales of its smartphones will be made by tomorrow.
Realme’s statement:
We have noticed the update shared by the Ministry of Home Affairs (MHA), Government of India. They have mentioned about the supply of non-essential goods by e-Commerce companies to remain prohibited during the lockdown.
realme was planning to start online sales of its smartphones from April 20 and launch its Narzo series on April 21 through e-commerce platforms.
But bearing in mind the current order from MHA, we are evaluating the situation and decision about the launch of the much-awaited Narzo series and online sales of our other smartphones will be made by tomorrow. On principle aligned, people’s health comes first at realme and we will follow the Government directives issued in best interests of the people.