Industry slams draft national e-commerce policy, calls it vague

The Department for Promotion of Industry and Internal Trade’s proposed e-commerce policy has drawn flak from industry as well as civil society for being vague and heightening the uncertainty for the sector. Also, the draft policy has skirted many existing legal provisions, stakeholders have argued.

In a detailed submission on the proposed policy, the software services industry lobby National Association of Software and Services Companies (Nasscom) said the “policy should limit its scope to cover various e-commerce platforms dealing in sale of goods and services and the sellers on those platforms”. In its current form, the draft policy includes buying, selling, marketing or distributing goods, including digital products and services, through the electronic network, as part of e-commerce.