New Delhi: Marking the boundaries of foreign direct investment Policy in addressing anti-competitive practices in e-marketplaces, such as self-preference, lack of platform neutrality, deep discounts, special agreements and preferential treatment for selected sellers, a parliamentary Panel has recommended that the government should have a holistic framework to address these issues. It said it should apply to all markets funded by foreign or domestic entities.
The Standing Committee on Commerce has also recommended that the enforcement mechanism under the FDI policy be strengthened effectively and action be taken against the e-commerce giants violating the FDI norms. “There is a need for a time-bound investigation mechanism to address the fast-paced digital market and ensure that the slow investigation process does not lead to unfair market practices,” the panel said. According to the report on “Overview of the e-commerce market” submitted to State Assembly Secretariat on Wednesday, the panel observed that as per the e-commerce rules notified by the Ministry of Consumer Affairs on e-commerce companies irrespective of their size, there may be a blanket reverse of the increased liability and slowing down the growth. E-commerce in India.
It has recommended that a calibrated approach be adopted for regulating e-commerce entities and the additional duties and liabilities introduced through the draft rules should be specifically made applicable only to e-commerce entities which have a certain Regulate limits, especially e-commerce giants. The consumer affairs ministry is yet to notify new amendments to the e-commerce rules amid reservations from various ministries.
The committee in its report noted that e-commerce companies are not registered with DPIIT (Department of Internal Trade) despite being the parent department to deal with this sector. It said that mandatory registration of e-commerce companies with the department would be the first step towards streamlining regulation of the sector and would also help in assessing the progress of the sector. The panel has said that frequent changes in policy are against the ethos of ease of doing business as it brings uncertainty in the policy regime, while recommending a stable FDI policy regime for the sector to boost the confidence of potential investors.
The Standing Committee on Commerce has also recommended that the enforcement mechanism under the FDI policy be strengthened effectively and action be taken against the e-commerce giants violating the FDI norms. “There is a need for a time-bound investigation mechanism to address the fast-paced digital market and ensure that the slow investigation process does not lead to unfair market practices,” the panel said. According to the report on “Overview of the e-commerce market” submitted to State Assembly Secretariat on Wednesday, the panel observed that as per the e-commerce rules notified by the Ministry of Consumer Affairs on e-commerce companies irrespective of their size, there may be a blanket reverse of the increased liability and slowing down the growth. E-commerce in India.
It has recommended that a calibrated approach be adopted for regulating e-commerce entities and the additional duties and liabilities introduced through the draft rules should be specifically made applicable only to e-commerce entities which have a certain Regulate limits, especially e-commerce giants. The consumer affairs ministry is yet to notify new amendments to the e-commerce rules amid reservations from various ministries.
The committee in its report noted that e-commerce companies are not registered with DPIIT (Department of Internal Trade) despite being the parent department to deal with this sector. It said that mandatory registration of e-commerce companies with the department would be the first step towards streamlining regulation of the sector and would also help in assessing the progress of the sector. The panel has said that frequent changes in policy are against the ethos of ease of doing business as it brings uncertainty in the policy regime, while recommending a stable FDI policy regime for the sector to boost the confidence of potential investors.