Consumer rights and data become part of new e-commerce directive: DPIIT secretary

A new e-commerce policy currently being drafted will cover various crucial issues ranging from data protection to consumer rights and a regulator for the sector can be established if necessary, the Department for the Promotion of Industry and Domestic Trade (DPIIT ) , said Secretary Guruprasad Mohapatra on Friday.

It will also cover areas including the issue of counterfeit products sold through online platforms, packaging and rules of origin, Mohapatra told reporters.

Mohapatra commented on the wide spectrum covered by the new e-commerce directive: “Who should be responsible for counterfeit products sold through an e-commerce company? Data is an important issue. The whole data issue will be governed by the actual Data Bill before Parliament.” “Therefore we are in no hurry to finalize it (the Directive)… Whatever the final outcome of this data bill will be, it will apply to anyone who works with has to do with data.”

He said that e-commerce isn’t just about foreign direct investment (FDI); it covers a wide range of topics.

In February 2019, the government released a draft e-commerce directive that would regulate cross-border data traffic, establish local storage facilities, and create a “data authority” to develop a framework for sharing community data.

Claiming that the country and its citizens had a “sovereign right” to data, the directive had banned the transfer of sensitive data that was collected and processed locally but stored abroad to foreign governments and companies outside of India or to such to third parties, even with the consent of the customer.

The draft directive also proposed giving companies three years to set up storage. It also called for a review of existing policies to exempt electronic transmission from tariffs “given the changing digital economy and the increasing role additive manufacturing is expected to play”.

The government then attempted to revise the draft. FE reported in December that under the new Darft directive, which is being fleshed out, the government may set up an investigative body to “hollowly investigate” and take action on violations of various laws by e-commerce companies.

Such a move is likely to spell trouble for the likes of Amazon and Flipkart, who are often accused by brick-and-mortar players of resorting to predatory pricing by secretly offering discounts through the sellers on their platforms in violation of FDI rules. However, the e-commerce players have denied the allegations.