Two days before the new e-commerce rules kick in, e-commerce giants Walmart-backed Flipkart and Amazon are still hopeful of an extension to the February 1 deadline and are making last-ditch efforts to convince the government that more time is needed for revamping operations. In December, the government had announced new regulations – under Press Note 2 – that would bar online marketplaces with foreign investments from selling products of the companies where they hold stakes and ban exclusive marketing arrangements. Another provision states that the inventory of a vendor will be seen as controlled by a marketplace, if over 25 per cent of the vendor’s purchases are from the marketplace entity, including the latter’s wholesale unit. Given the magnitude of investments at stake, the companies are also keeping their plan B ready in case the deadline isn’t extended. However, it seems unlikely that the Department of Industrial Policy and Promotion (DIPP) would postpone the implementation date. Smaller e-commerce firms like Snapdeal and ShopClues as well as offline retailers have also written to Commerce Ministry, urging the government to not give into pressure from US companies and authorities.