E-tailers Seek Tweaks In Proposed Rules
- ByStartupStory | August 24, 2021
India’s top e-commerce companies and e-tailors represented by the Internet and Mobile Association of India (IAMAI), have sought changes to the proposed e-commerce rules, positing that the proposals harm the interests of consumers. IAMAI’s members include top e-commerce companies, including Flipkart, Amazon, and Tata group companies. In a letter to the consumer affairs ministry, a copy of which was reviewed by Mint, IAMAI alleged the new rules will not only deny online sellers a level-playing field, but will also unfairly impact thousands of small suppliers to the e-tailers. More importantly, the rules will adversely affect the interests of millions of customers who have embraced e-commerce amid the pandemic, the letter said.
The controversial e-commerce rules spearheaded by consumer affairs minister Piyush Goyal has divided the industry, with Mukesh Ambani’s Reliance Industries Ltd (RIL) favouring the government’s move and foreign-owned e-commerce firms, such as Flipkart and Amazon India, and some of India’s largest conglomerates opposing the proposed guidelines for e-commerce marketplaces. On June 29, Mint first reported that e-commerce giants Amazon.com Inc. and Walmart Inc. ‘s Flipkart were planning to oppose the draft rules. The rules—Consumer Protection (e-commerce) Rules, 2020— that were made public in June are to be implemented after factoring in stakeholders’ views. According to the proposed norms, even people engaged by e-commerce entities for fulfilment of orders, such as for storage, inventory and order management, will be construed as e-commerce entities. Any outsourcing service provider or a vendor, too, will be deemed an e-commerce entity, thereby curtailing such entities’ right to access the market through e-commerce, the letter said.
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