Centre, states discuss issues related to e-commerce

Of late, the centre has been holding a series of meetings with e-commerce companies, state governments and banks to ascertain the changing landscape of the sector

The Centre and state governments on Wednesday  held a brainstorming session on e-commerce even as the government has not yet firmed up its mind on whether to allow foreign direct investment (FDI) in retail e-commerce.  Of late, the Centre has been holding a series of meetings with e-commerce companies, state governments and banks to ascertain the changing landscape.

“The whole exercise is to understand and get the larger picture of the sector in the country. Technology is catching up fast and the government needs to be seized of the matter. FDI was one of the many issues that we discussed today. It is a multilayered debate that involves discussion on their operation, taxation and other things,” commerce and industry minister Nirmala Sitharaman told Business Standard.

We have neither said yes or no to anything. We are only understanding the sector by coming together,” commerce and industry minister Nirmala Sitharaman told Business Standard.

Sitharaman said that while some states had made a detailed report on the issues facing them concerning e-commerce, some states have asked for 15 days time to come back to the centre with a detailed report.

The minister held an hour-long meeting with the representatives from the state governments on how to define e-commerce, the FDI policy norms governing e-commerce, regulatory framework, applicability of Consumer Protection Act and point of sale among others.

At present, 100 per cent FDI is allowed in business-to-business (B2B) e-commerce and banned in the B2C segment. Besides, there is a 30 per cent local sourcing rule for foreign entities.

In the meeting, both the governments of Uttar Pradesh and Chhattisgarh, mobile e-commerce should also be included as part of the e-commerce policy. He was of the view that the name of the seller should be printed on the final receipt.

On the other hand, Yashodhara Raje Scindia, industry minister of Madhya Pradesh demanded a stricter regulatory mechanism for e-commerce. However, she also batted for allowing FDI in the B2C segment of e-commerce.

The industry minister of Goa asked 50 per cent FDI threshold in the retail ecommerce.