Draft E-commerce Policy

Estimated at around $137 billion, India's ecommerce market is projected to expand at a compound annual growth rate of over 20 per cent between 2025 and 2030

The government has rolled out draft guidelines for e-commerce platforms, mandating self-regulatory measures to protect consumers from fraudulent practices amid the fast-growing digital shopping landscape in India. The draft guidelines, titled 'E-commerce-Principles and Guidelines for Self Governance', have been prepared by the Bureau of Indian Standards (BIS) under the Food and Consumer Affairs Ministry's supervision, seeking stakeholder comments by February 15. "...the rise of e-commerce has introduced new challenges, particularly in terms of consumer protection and trust. The importance of clear and effective rules and norms for self-governance in e-commerce cannot be further emphasized in this context," the draft stated. The framework introduces three-phase principles covering pre-transaction, contract formation, and post-transaction stages for e-commerce operations. Under pre-transaction requirements, platforms must conduct thorough KYC of business partners, especially third-pa

Major e-commerce companies in India on Wednesday backed the government's proposal to make mandatory compliance with quality norms for consumer reviews, the consumer affairs department said on Wednesday. At a meeting held here, representatives from Amazon, Flipkart, Google and Meta, among others, endorsed the proposed quality control order to implement the IS 19000:2022 standard on 'online consumer reviews', according to the department. There was a consensus that the order is important to protect consumer interests from misleading reviews on shopping websites and apps, it said, adding that the draft order will be put up for public consultation. "The discussion on moving towards a Quality Control Order for IS 19000:2022 was welcomed by stakeholders and there was a general consensus among all stakeholders that the issue of fake reviews is important to protect consumer interest while shopping online, and requires to be closely monitored," the department said in a statement. Chairing th

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 ..

Traders' body CAIT on Wednesday flagged the "inordinate delay" in the roll-out of a national e-commerce policy and consumer protection rules, saying the delay in their implementation has provided an opportunity to certain foreign e-commerce players to damage domestic retail trade. The Confederation of All India Traders (CAIT) sent a written communication in this regard to Minister for Commerce and Industry, Consumer Affairs, Food & Public Distribution and Textiles, Piyush Goyal on Tuesday. In a statement on Wednesday, the traders' body expressed "utter dismay over inordinate delay in rolling out of e-commerce policy and rules under Consumer Protection Act" and equated it to a "slow poison situation" for the country's business community. In the letter to Goyal, CAIT Secretary General Praveen Khandelwal said the delay in the implementation "has caused irreparable loss to the small and medium retail traders and has resulted in deep loss of turnover in their business and thousands of .

The earlier draft of the policy which was released in 2019 talked extensively about the ways in which e-commerce companies could collect user data

In that meeting, a broad level of consensus emerged among the concerned stakeholders on the proposed policy

The roles and responsibilities of the banks and OEIF and the disciplines for operating the import and export collection accounts are clearly spelt out

Alleges that FDI policy has been continuously violated by foreign-funded e-commerce firms right under govt's nose, no action taken against such companies so far

Union minister Piyush Goyal assured that every stakeholder's interest will be taken into consideration while framing the e-commerce policy which would be robust and in the interest of every Indian.

Piyush Goyal said "strong feedback" will help in preparing a robust e-commerce policy

The official said that unnecessary fear is created that the government's current e-commerce policy is hurting small traders.

To protect the interest of consumers, the government has proposed key amendments to the Consumer Protection (e-commerce) Rules, 2020 which include ban on fraudulent flash sales and misselling

The consumer affairs ministry is examining stakeholders' views on all provisions of the draft Consumer Protection (e-commerce) Rules, including definition of 'related party', a govt official said

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Stand on marketplace draft at variance with Tatas

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Revised norms will clear ambiguity on proposed amendments, say officials

According to the draft, the rules will be applicable to "all goods and services bought or sold over digital or electronic network including digital products"

Tata Group is taking a more vocal interest in rules shaping online marketplaces, hinting at ambitions as it reappraises its retail strategy just as e-commerce reform threatens to muddy plans