BIS Panel May Review Making Online Consumer Reviews Guidelines Mandatory After 6 Months

The Bureau of Indian Standards (BIS) may review guidelines for online consumer ratings after six months to decide if the rules can be made mandatory.

A 17-member BIS panel will review the guidelines after six months or a year, Rakesh Mohan Joshi, chairperson of the BIS committee, told ET.

“There is already a lot of resistance to these standards from sections of the industry that want to manipulate online reviews,” Joshi was quoted as saying in the report.

To comply with these standards, the organisations can get their websites certified by BIS, he added.

Last month, the Centre unveiled the framework to curb deceptive and fake reviews on ecommerce platforms. The guidelines came into force from November 25.

“The standard is expected to benefit all stakeholders in the ecommerce ecosystem i.e. consumers, e-commerce platforms, sellers etc. It will help usher in confidence among consumers to purchase goods online and help them take better purchase decisions,” the Ministry of Consumer Affairs said in a statement.

While the guidelines are currently voluntary for ecommerce platforms, the government said that they would be made mandatory if violations continue. The guidelines are applicable to all online platforms that publish customer reviews.

As per the new standards, ecommerce platforms are mandated to develop a code of practice and necessary terms and conditions to curb fake reviews and address allied concerns around accessibility and privacy.

In addition, the authors of the reviews also need to share their contact information for verification purposes to check their traceability and genuineness.

The Department of Consumer Affairs had constituted a committee in June to develop a framework to check deceptive reviews. The guidelines are a step by the government to crack down on fake customer reviews on online platforms as these reviews are used by the customers to make purchase decisions.

The growth in smartphone and internet penetration in the country has led to a surge in the ecommerce sector in the country over the last few years. While Flipkart and Amazon lead the segment, a lot of startups like Meesho, Udaan, have also sprung up.

According to an Inc42 report, India’s ecommerce market is estimated to reach a size of $400 Bn by 2030 from $100 Bn currently. The total number of online shoppers in the country is projected to rise to 350 Mn by 2025 from 165 Mn currently.