Sellers stated that the Walmart-controlled firm has not given them any purpose for initiating the method and that below the garb of verifying their GST credentials, Flipkart could also be attempting to get entry to their confidential GST information, they alleged.”As soon as we share the OTP, Flipkart can get API (utility programming interface) entry to our information. The corporate can then have entry to all earlier information since GSTIN registration,” a vendor, who has been on {the marketplace} since 9 years, stated.
5 sellers TOI spoke with stated that the info can provide entry to their annual turnover and in addition the quantity of gross sales they make on rival marketplaces like Amazon and Meesho. “To forestall potential location blocking, please confirm your GSTINs via the OTP verification course of,” screenshots of the Flipkart portal shared by sellers stated.
In a press release, Flipkart stated that the OTP entered by sellers on the platform is a one-time course of to validate that the GST registration quantity belongs to a specific vendor who’s doing enterprise via Flipkart and to stop any misuse of a vendor’s GST quantity by any unauthorised particular person. “This doesn’t give us entry to information submitted by them of their GST returns,” an organization spokesperson stated.
Sellers stated that Flipkart already verifies their GST paperwork, PAN and Aadhaar particulars throughout the onboarding course of. In search of OTP verification from new sellers remains to be comprehensible, however there isn’t any rationale behind directing previous sellers to undergo the system. “Some sellers have given OTP entry to Flipkart as they do not need their festive season gross sales to get impacted. This appears to be like like an tried information theft,” stated one other vendor, including that not one of the different marketplaces together with Flipkart Group’s Myntra observe such a course of.
“If Flipkart is saying that the OTP verification is a one-time course of, then perhaps they are going to do this simply to confirm the registration however submission of OTP by a vendor does give the corporate entry to information that sellers have filed on the GST portal. The apprehension of sellers just isn’t completely misplaced,” stated a tax knowledgeable.
