The Indian government had escalated the matter of Amazon selling doormats bearing the tricolour to diplomatic levels. After External Affairs Minister Sushma Swaraj had threatened to rescind the visas of Amazon employees in India in January, the Narendra Modi government had asked the Indian embassies in the United States and Canada to take up the matter “strongly” with Amazon’s senior leadership, a according acquired by Reuters has revealed.

Without making any of the steps public, the Centre had also raised its concerns directly with Amazon CEO Jeff Bezos, forcing the e-commerce giant to conduct a global audit of its merchandise to “ensure that such products are not listed on any of its other” websites around the world, the document read.

The Indian government’s actions have prompted Amazon to make the country’s laws that regulate the use of the national flag and other emblems “an integral part of the global compliance process”. The document also lays down the measures the company has taken in cooperation with Indian authorities since the incident.

“Amazon India has conveyed that it is fully committed to respecting Indian laws and customs,” the paper said, adding that it had improved its in-house compliance instruments that monitor products sold by third-party vendors on its websites.

Amazon Canada had taken down the products deemed offensive from its website a day after Swaraj’s threat, saying they had not meant to “hurt Indian sentiments”. India’s Economic Affairs Secretary Shaktikanta Das, too, had criticised the company for being “flippant about Indian symbols and icons”.