Amendments in e-Commerce Rules to bring in Transparency

• 24 Jun 2021

Union Government has proposed several amendments in the e-commerce rules to bring transparency and curb the prevalent unfair trade practices in the online marketing platforms.

• The government has recently come up with a draft of the proposed amendments to the Consumer Protection (E-commerce) Rules, 2020, to protect the interests of consumers and encourage free and fair competition in the market. The Centre has sought views and suggestions on these amendments till 6th of July.

Highlights

• According to the proposed rules, the e-commerce platforms will need to appoint a Chief Compliance Officer, a Nodal Officer, a Resident Grievance Officer and other officials to ensure compliance with the provisions of the Act and Rules.
• It has been proposed to put in place a framework for registration of every e-commerce entity with the Department for Promotion of Industry and Internal Trade for allotment of registration number. This registration number will be displayed prominently on the website as well as the invoice of every order.
• The government has also proposed prohibiting mis-selling, in which entities sell goods or services by misrepresenting information. To ensure that consumers are aware about the expiry date of the products they are buying on the e-commerce platform, all sellers will have to mention 'best before or use before date' to enable consumers to make an informed purchase decision.
• The government has clarified that conventional e-commerce flash sales are not banned, but specific flash sales or back to back sales which limit customer choice, increase prices and prevent a level playing field are not allowed.