Govt. Ready with eCommerce Policy
Reports claim that a broad consensus has emerged between stakeholders that include local businesses and the big-tech giants from overseas
India’s fast growing eCommerce market could soon be regulated to some extent as the government says it is almost ready with a national eCommerce policy. In fact, the issue had raised the hackles of the domestic trading community which repeatedly accused the Big Tech companies of anti-competition measures and even went into a legal battle.
Of course, for the moment we wouldn’t know how the government has managed to keep both sides happy – that is if the policy in its final form does walk the tightrope. For now, all that those in power are divulging is that the policy would not be made public for further scrutiny by the stakeholders, says a report published in the ET.
No further discussions on the policy
The Department for Promotion of Industry and Internal Trade (DPIIT), under the ministry of commerce and industry, reportedly held detailed discussions earlier in August with stakeholders that included representatives of the big eCommerce companies and the domestic traders’ association – the Confederation of All India Traders (CAIT).
The report quoted unnamed official sources to state that a broad consensus had emerged between the two parties over the draft policy. The official reportedly confirmed that no new draft policy would come out and the final sign-off is on the way. The next step is to present the policy to the top leadership of the government.
The challenges in the earlier Draft Policy
Readers would recall that the government had come out with two drafts of the policy with the one issued in 2019 addressing areas around the eCommerce ecosystem of data, infrastructure development, marketplaces, regulatory issues, stimulation of the domestic digital economy and export promotion through digital commerce.
It had references to a framework that restricted cross-border data flow, collection or processing of sensitive data locally and storing it abroad and measures to contain sale of counterfeit products, prohibited items and pirated content among others. It had also proposed a review of the system of not charging custom duties on e-transmissions.
In addition, the policy had provided for steps to promote exports through the digital route and capacity development of data storage in the country. However, the officials quoted by the publication now hold that on data localization, the eCommerce company would merely have to follow the law of the land as laid down recently by the Parliament.
What’s being fixed now?
According to the official, the new policy would keep all the interests of the stakeholders that include investors, manufacturers, MSMEs, traders, retailers, startups and the consumers. There would also be a set of rules for consumer protection in addition to a proposed digital competition law that seems to have come up.
Those in the know suggested that the government’s efforts are targeted to create a policy that provides a conducive environment for inclusive and harmonious growth of digital commerce in India. It seems obvious that the government is seeking to mollify CAIT which has been calling out big tech companies for violating FDI norms.
