Ecommerce rules shouldn’t stunt sector’s growth: IACC
Indian American Chambers of Commerce (IACC) on Thursday said that any policy or regulation for the e-commerce sector must ensure that its growth is not stunted in any manner.
In a statement, the chamber said that the new e-commerce policy will “hopefully be in sync” with the existing laws such as the Digital Data Protection Act without increasing the compliance burden.
It said that any policy or regulation for the e-commerce sector must ensure that its growth is not stunted in any manner, and that policymaking for e-commerce should be a carefully calibrated effort to incentivise investment, boost innovation, and encourage competition.
“And the way to ensure that the policy and rules are positive is by finalising them only after consensus has emerged through transparent and open consultation with all the relevant stakeholders,” the chamber said, adding that e-commerce has a multiplier effect on economic growth, job creation, export orientation, and consumer empowerment.
While the policy has been long awaited by industry, consumers and other stakeholders, it is notable that the last draft of the e-commerce policy was made public four years ago, prior to the pandemic, the lobby group said that recently no draft has been shared with the public, including industry, of the current version of the policy.
“…without a draft, it may be difficult to industry and stakeholders alike to comment on the provisions the proposed policy aims to put in place to unlock growth in this key sunrise sector,” it said.
As per the statement, e-commerce has emerged as an “amazing market access tool” and is “building resilience in retail and allied sectors against unforeseen crises – including future pandemics”.
It said that the e-commerce sector is
