Following the settlement with German anti-trust authority, Amazon has incorporated changes in its service terms in India. (AP Photo/Reed Saxon, File)

Following the settlement with German anti-trust authority, Amazon has incorporated changes in its service terms in India. In a move to strengthen seller rights in the country, the company will now have to update its policies for third-party merchants. The ruling comes after a seven-month investigation into allegations by third-party sellers of unfair treatment by the company.

The major changes will include Amazon sharing liability with business partners, a 30-day notice before removing merchants from the platform and considering the merchants while charging for product cancellations and returns. The authority had published a statement, which says, “For example, sellers using fulfilled by Amazon will now be able to demand that items returned to Amazon be returned to them and object to Amazon’s reimbursement decision within 30 days.” The step is expected to bring significant gain for third-party merchants as these charges costs them 7-15 per cent of the product cost.

Sellers often say that customers allegedly misuse the company’s customer-first approach to get products and return them for no valid reasons. However, the latest step is expected to push the logistics costs for Amazon, if it absorbs some of the costs of refunds as part of the German ruling. The significant spend in logistics delivery charge is also attributed to low delivery charge for certain sellers, who work closely with the marketplace. It was earlier reported that some of the companies, where Amazon holds a stake, pay less platform fee compared to other third-party sellers.

The company has, however, agreed to abide by the ruling and has assured that an objection to the refund claim against the seller will only be asserted if Amazon proves that the product in question is originally the one supplied by the seller. One of the Amazon India spokesperson was quoted saying, “We made these changes because we agree they are good for our sellers. We listen to our sellers and other stakeholders as we work to provide the best service to our sellers and customers.”