National e-commerce policy in final stages, may be announced soon: Goyal

The proposed national e-commerce policy being formulated by the commerce and industry ministry is in the final stages and expected to be announced very soon, Union Minister Piyush Goyal said on Thursday.

In August, the Department for Promotion of Industry and Internal Trade (DPIIT) held a detailed discussion with representatives of e-commerce firms and a domestic traders' body on the proposed policy.

"It is at the final stages of discussion at the highest level in the government. We hope to come out very soon," the commerce and industry minister told reporters here when asked about the policy.

Earlier, the ministry issued two draft national e-commerce policies.

The 2019 draft proposed to address six broad areas of the e-commerce ecosystem - data, infrastructure development, e-commerce marketplaces, regulatory issues, stimulating domestic digital economy and export promotion through e-commerce.

Domestic traders body CAIT has time and again demanded roll out of the policy as they alleged that foreign online retailers violate norms of the FDI (Foreign Direct Investment) in commerce and the government should take action against those who are indulging in malpractices.

The DPIIT is also working on a national retail trade policy.