Commerce and Industry Minister Piyush Goyal is scheduled to meet representatives of e-commerce firms and domestic traders body CAIT on August 2 to discuss issues related to the sector, an official said.
Representatives from different companies including Amazon, Flpikart, Tata CLiQ, Reliance, Zomato, Swiggy and Meesho are expected to participate in the deliberations.
The meeting assumes significance as the government is in the process of framing a national e-commerce policy and consumer protection rules for the sector.
Confirming about the meeting, Confederation of All India Traders (CAIT) National Secretary General Praveen Khandelwal said he has urged the government to immediately notify the policy and the rules for the online retail sector, which is dominated by global players.
The policy would help in providing a conducive environment for inclusive and harmonious growth of the sector.
In June, secretary in the department for promotion of industry and internal trade (DPIIT) Rajesh Kumar Singh has said that broadly the intention is to make the policy work along with the consumer protection rules and not in conflict with each other.
The policy aims to prepare strategies for providing a conducive environment for inclusive and harmonious growth of e-commerce sector through a streamlined regulatory framework for ease of doing business, adoption of modern technologies, integration of supply chains and enhancing exports through this medium.
The consumer protection rules and this policy will be separate, but they will not be in conflict with each other and in fact they will be entirely in agreement with each other.
The policy would act as an overarching framework as compared to the e-commerce rules.
CAIT has time and again alleged that foreign online retailers violate norms of the FDI (foreign direct investment) in commerce and the government should take action against those who are indulging in malpractices.
The government permits FDI in the marketplace model of e-commerce and it is not allowed in the inventory-based model. The onus of compliance of the provisions are on the infested company and any violation of FDI regulations are covered by the penal precisions of the FEMA (foreign exchange management act).
While the RBI administers the Act, the enforcement directorate is the authority for the implementation of FEMA and takes up investigations in cases of contravention of the law.
Further, the regulatory framework for the digital/e-commerce sector is still evolving in the country. The sector is governed by the Information Technology Act, Consumer protection Act, FDI policy on e-commerce sector, and Competition Act.
The DPIIT is also working on a national retail trade policy, which is in the process of inter-ministerial consultation.
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