Ecommerce Policy Draft: Overseas Gifts, Fakes, Logistics Dominate DIPP Discussion

The Department of Industrial Policy and Promotion (DIPP) said it discussed issues related to gifts from overseas, logistics industry as well as exports as part of an ongoing discussion on the draft ecommerce policy.

A media report citing a senior official said that DIPP has held discussions on payment mechanism, ways to control the sale of counterfeit products through online platforms, and facilitating logistics for the sector.

The department has also met major courier and logistics companies which provide services such as warehousing, inventory, packing, shipping and tracking for customised last-mile deliveries.

The panel will also come up with a definition of ecommerce. At present, the government has already increased the export incentives to $7,097 (INR 5 Lakh) per consignment from $354.8 (INR 25,000) earlier for handloom products, books and periodicals, leather footwear, toys and customised fashion garments through courier or foreign post offices using ecommerce.

The draft ecommerce policy was made public in August by the Ministry of Commerce and Industry. However, the policy draft faced resistance from many departments and ministries, which felt that the recommendations exceeded the commerce department’s brief.

With government bodies, ecommerce companies and sellers at loggerheads with each other over a range of issues such as deep discounting, counterfeits, and marketplace policies, the ecommerce policy has been eagerly awaited to give clarity about the regulatory framework around the ecommerce market.

With the sector poised to reach $200 Bn by 2026, the government’s policy on the matter will also be essential for handling the market competition among players like Amazon, Paytm Mall, etc.

The ecommerce policy draft aims to ensure a level playing field for local businesses in digital trade in India, where deep-pocketed foreign companies are investing and contesting aggressively.

[The development was reported by ET.]