Commerce Secretary Rita Teotia said the government has decided to constitute a task force that will look into the inputs presented by the stakeholders and put forth their recommendations to the thinktank in five months
The government will finalise a policy framework on e-commerce in the next six months, a move that will protect consumer interest and address an array of issues faced by these companies.
Commerce Secretary Rita Teotia said the government has decided to constitute a task force that will look into the inputs presented by the stakeholders and put forth their recommendations to the thinktank in five months.
The thinktank on framework for a national policy on e-commerce, headed by commerce and industry minister Suresh Prabhu, had its first meeting today. “The final policy framework will be out in six months,” Teotia said.
Prabhu and other commerce ministry officials today met 50 key stakeholders, including officials from finance ministry, Competition Commission of India (CCI), Reserve Bank of India (RBI), Telecom Regulatory Authority of India (TRAI) and National Association of Software and Services Companies (NASSCOM).
related news
Officials from top e-commerce companies such as Flipkart, Urbanclap, Snapdeal, Makemytrip, PayTm, Shopclues, among others were also present at the meeting.
Key areas of discussion were taxation, competition policy, data localisation, technology transfer and the kind of regulator that the e-commerce sector would attract, Teotia said.
Founder of mobile payments company PayTm, Vijay Shekhar Sharma, who was also present at the meeting, said the government is coming to an understanding where the access to India's markets should balance with the benefits to the countrymen. “In a way, India's open market is a big advantage to global companies but the same might not be true for domestic ones." Sharma said.
Teotia also said while discussion on e-commerce is underway at World Trade Organisation (WTO) — an international body dealing with the rules of trade between nations — with India being an active participant, the country does not have a negotiating mandate.
However, a detailed national policy on e-commerce would help the country gain clarity regarding its stand on e-commerce at the WTO.
Several developed countries have been enthusiastic about negotiating multilateral rules to govern international trade through e-commerce.