Ease of doing business for MSMEs: Announcing a three-month (January-March) national agitation in 2023 seeking to streamline the e-commerce sector in India along with simplification and rationalization of GST tax structure, traders’ body Confederation of All India Traders (CAIT) on Sunday criticised the government for being unable to roll out the national e-commerce policy and revised e-commerce rules despite discussions over past more than three years.
“It is a matter of great regret that even after spending more than three years, the central government has not been able to bring e-commerce policy and e-commerce rules under Consumer Protection Act whereas the foreign e-commerce companies are bent upon on violating the law and the FDI policy quite openly,” CAIT said in a statement.
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The association also called out state governments to be “bigger culprits since trade and commerce is a state subject and even after suffering huge losses of GST revenue at the hands of foreign e-commerce companies, the state governments have become silent spectators, signing different kinds of MoUs (with e-commerce companies).”
The e-commerce policy, a draft of which was placed in the public domain in February 2019 for public consultations and suggestions from various stakeholders, is yet to be notified and implemented. Currently, the e-commerce sector is governed by multiple acts including Consumer Protection Act, 2019; Competition Act, 2002; Central Goods and Services Tax (CGST) Act, 2017; Information Technology Act, 2000; Payment and Settlement Systems Act, 2007; Companies Act, 2013; Copyright Act, 1957 etc. Moreover, Foreign Direct Investment (FDI) Policy and Foreign Exchange Management Act, 1999 contain provisions related to FDI in India’s e-commerce sector.
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In terms of e-commerce rules, which specify the duties and liabilities of sellers on e-commerce marketplaces and inventory-based e-commerce entities including consumer grievance redressals, the Department of Consumer Affairs under the provisions of the Consumer Protection Act, 2019 had notified the Consumer Protection (E-Commerce) Rules in July 2020 and later amended in May 2021.
“Keeping in view the dynamic nature of the e-commerce sector and to address new and emerging concerns affecting consumers in e-commerce, the Department of Consumer Affairs published the proposed amendments to the e-commerce rules for comments and inputs from various stakeholders including industry associations, consumer organizations, major e-commerce entities and law chairs,” MoS Consumer Affairs Ashwini Kumar Choubey had informed Lok Sabha in February this year. The revised rules are yet to be notified.