RSS-affiliate Swadeshi Jagran Manch (SJM) on Saturday appealed to the central government to make the registration of e-commerce entities — falling under marketplace-based model and having local offices in India, be made compulsory. An inspection mechanism should be made to annually verify that such entities comply all terms and conditions of the revised e-commerce rules, that came into effect from February 1.
SJM, in its communication to the union minister of commerce and industry Suresh Prabhu, emphasised that a code of conduct for marketplace model be prescribed to keep it a neutral marketplace. The new rules bar online retailers from selling goods, exclusively on their platforms. Major e-commerce firms, including Amazon and Flipkart, had written to the government seeing an extension to the deadline, unsuccessfully.
SJM national convener Dr Ashwani Mahajan said e-commerce entity should be defined as the entity conducting e-commerce business and which is either a company incorporated under the Companies Act, 1956 or the Companies Act, 2013 in which person(s) resident outside India participates in its ownership or control directly or through its subsidiaries, associates or joint ventures, or a foreign company covered under section 2(42) of the Companies Act, 2013.
''A recent RTI revealed that the Department of Industrial Policy and Promotion (DIPP) has no register of e-commerce marketplaces, who are permitted to run a business on e-commerce of marketplace model as permitted by consolidated FDI policy. Therefore, the registration should be binding,'' noted Mahajan. Further, SJM argued that cash back should not be allowed by group companies of marketplace entities to buyers and the government should prescribe suitable accounting standards.
Seeking Control
- SJM emphasised that a code of conduct for marketplace model be prescribed
- New rules bar online retailers from selling goods, exclusively on their platforms. Several big firms had written to the government seeking extension to the deadline, unsuccessfully
