Draft e-commerce policy - Amazon, Flipkart raises concerns
Published: Aug 08, 2018
By TIOLCORPLAWS News Service
NEW DELHI, AUG 08, 2018: India's largest e-commerce firms Amazon Seller Services Pvt. Ltd and Flipkart Pvt. Ltd are lobbying the govt to scrap the entire draft e-commerce policy, which recommends strict restrictions on online retail, including curbs on discounts. The online retailers have urged the govt to instead consider fresh regulations.
The govt is mulling a single legislation to regulate all aspects of the e-commerce business, and is also exploring the idea of putting in place a watchdog to monitor all sector-related issues, according to the draft policy document. The govt aims to remove the legal fragmentation governing the e-commerce sector, according to the Draft National Policy Framework on e-commerce. It has also suggested the creation of a central consumer protection authority to act as a nodal agency for intra-government coordination, mandatory registration of all e-commerce operators and registration of complaints.
The draft stated the legal framework governing unsolicited commercial SMSs and calls would be strengthened. A law and regulation to govern unsolicited commercial e-mails would be framed. Industry sources, however, feel that the e-commerce industry is going back to the days of the infamous 'Licence Raj' with these "stringent regulations".
Some of the measures suggested in the draft include local data storage, mandating the use of state-run RuPay payments in online transactions and enhancing the participation of micro, small and medium enterprises (MSMEs) in online retail.
Also, a group company of an online retailer or marketplace may not be allowed to directly or indirectly influence the price or sale of products and services on its platform, a move that could completely restrict e-tailers from providing deep discounts. The draft has suggested introducing a pre-set timeframe for offering differential pricing or deep discounts to customers.
The government has been striving to build a consensus on an e-commerce policy to resolve the policy vacuum on key issues related to the sector, as well as to effectively respond to a proposal for multilateral discipline in e-commerce at the World Trade Organization.
