Assocham for implementation of model guidelines on direct

Leading industry body Assocham has appealed to the government to advise all states for speedy implementation of Model Direct Selling Guidelines issued by the consumer affairs ministry in September 2016.

Assocham's direct tax force on direct selling had written to the consumer affairs minister Ram Vilas Paswan stating that after 18 months of issuance of these guidelines, the industry has not seen much progress in their implementation.

Some of the states such as Sikkim, Telengana, Chhattisgarh and Andhra Pradesh have implemented the guidelines while most of the states are yet to adopt them, Assocham said in a statement.

The guidelines would recognise the sector and remove the misconception about the industry as a pyramid and money circulation schemes.

According to The Indian Direct Selling Association (IDSA), the number of direct sellers has witnessed a considerable increase to 5.1 million in 2016-17 from four million in 2015-16.

Vijay Saldana, chairman of the Task Force on Direct Selling, said, "If the Government ensures speedy implementation of the guidelines, it will result in creating over 10 million entrepreneurs by 2020.