E-commerce sites’ fates to be decided tomorrow in a ministry meeting

A 'Digital Commerce Management Guide' is soon to be introduced to finalise how e-commerce sites will continue to operate. An inter-ministerial meeting will be held tomorrow, Wednesday at 11 AM under the chairmanship of Commerce Ministry Secretary Tapan Kanti Ghosh. The Law Ministry will also be participating in the meeting.

The Digital Commerce Management Guide-2021 is being prepared considering the disadvantages of the services of digital commerce or e-commerce organisations, under the revised National Digital Commerce Policy passed in 2020. A draft guideline has already been prepared by the central e-commerce cell of the Ministry of Commerce.

The e-commerce cell currently has the names and addresses of one thousand organisations that might be brought under the authority of the guideline. The aims and purposes of this guideline are to ensure transparency and accountability in the management of digital commerce, create new entrepreneurs through building a competitive market and create employment through expanding digital businesses.

Digital commerce or e-commerce institutions will not be able to run in the country as they are currently running the business if the guideline is implemented. The guideline would require the terms of sale, return and exchange of goods or services to be clearly stated on the website of the organisation or the marketplace. No organisation can take any kind of lottery or similar measures to sell or promote products and services.

Customers would also need to be informed about the stock of any product under the instructions of the guideline.