Ministry of Consumer Affairs extends e-commerce guidelines feedback deadline to October 31

By

Isabelle Crossley

Published
Sep 17, 2019

The Ministry of Consumer Affairs has extended the deadline for stakeholders to submit feedback on the draft e-commerce policy from September 16 to October 31 to allow more time for submissions.

As the Ministry of Consumer Affairs prepares to move ahead with its draft e-commerce policy, it has decided to give stakeholders another six weeks to submit feedback, it announced on Monday, as reported by ET Bureau. A number of stakeholders, including state governments, had asked the ministry for more time and some have expressed a lack of clarity on some of the guidelines. 

“A lot of stakeholders have sought clarity on the draft guidelines, especially on the definition of unfair trade practices, demarcation of marketplace versus inventory-led e-commerce and norms for advertising,” an anonymous source involved with the ministry told ET Bureau. 

The draft e-commerce policy is the first draft government policy dedicated solely to online retail. As India’s online market continues to grow, a number of challenges have presented themselves to businesses and trade organisations alike such as counterfeit goods, especially in the beauty industry, intellectual property, returned products, and foreign direct investment. It is expected that the policy will provide clear guidelines on these topics.