Govt working on Draft Ecomm guidelines
In order to protect consumers who shop online, the Government of India is seeking feedback (till 16th September’19) on draft e-commerce guidelines introduced by the Ministry of Consumer Affairs. According to the ministry, the rules are “principles for e-commerce business for preventing fraud, unfair trade practices and protecting the legitimate rights and interests of consumers.”
The proposed rules allow only entities registered in India to carry out e-commerce businesses, creating a roadblock for cross border e-commerce websites. It also mandates e-commerce marketplaces to display the legal name, address, website, email address and other contact details of sellers. The guidelines state that e-commerce entities will not be allowed to influence prices of products sold on their websites. The onus on addressing customers grievances about receiving counterfeit products also lies on the marketplaces.
