India News

australia red-flags draft e-commerce rules: will raise trade barriers

thE draft rules published on June 28 seek to tighten the regulation on online marketplaces. The Consumer Affairs Department had given time till July 21 for various stakeholders to submit their comments.

BESIDES triggering a strong pushback internally, the draft e-commerce rules of the government’s Department of Consumer Affairs have drawn flak from at least one sovereign government — Australia — and multiple foreign trade bodies for being intrusive and detrimental to trade.

The draft rules published on June 28 seek to tighten the regulation on online marketplaces. The Consumer Affairs Department had given time till July 21 for various stakeholders to submit their comments.

The Australian government, which is negotiating a trade pact with India — including a dedicated chapter in the agreement on e-commerce — has formally written to the Department of Consumer Affairs pointing out that the new rules would “impose extensive extraterritorial obligations on foreign e-commerce entities operating in India”.

“We consider the proposed amendments would be overly prescriptive and would increase trade barriers, particularly for SMEs,” it wrote in an undated submission titled “Consultation on proposed amendments to the Consumer Protection (E-Commerce) Rules, 2020 of the Government of India” made to the Ministry of Consumer Affairs, Food and Public Distribution.

A copy of this submission, and inputs submitted by other stakeholders for the draft e-commerce rules, were obtained by The Indian Express under the Right to Information Act.

Specifically, among the seven concerns it raised, are aspects such as definition of mis-selling, mandatory registration of e-commerce companies with the Indian government and time stipulation to redress complaints. Further, on the lines of concerns flagged by Indian government departments and industry players, Australia has also sought clarification on ban of flash sales.

“We support efforts to implement rules that prohibit fraudulent business practices online. We note however that the organisation of flash sales by e-commerce entities is commonplace and a widely accepted international practice. In that regard, we would welcome clarification on how fraudulent interception could be determined in practice, and what “technological means” might encompass,” it noted.

The Indian Express had reported Friday that the draft rules had received scathing feedback from several government departments including the Department for Promotion of Industry and Internal Trade, the Niti Aayog, the Ministry of Corporate Affairs, the Ministry of Finance and the Ministry of Electronics and Information Technology. These departments flagged several anomalies, questioned certain provisions, and suggested remedial tweaks with the proposed rules.

“In summary, the E-Commerce Rules, as written, are likely to have a significant adverse impact on Australian e-commerce entities which operate in India. The Rules would impose unreasonable compliance costs and be particularly onerous for SMEs, which would likely have implications on competition and consumer choice in India,” the Australian government wrote.

E-mail queries sent Friday to the Australian High Commission in New Delhi did not elicit a response.

Australian Minister for Trade, Tourism, and Investment Dan Tehan, who is on a visit to India, told a press conference on Friday he had discussed e-commerce with his Indian counterpart and that both sides had agreed there would be an e-commerce chapter in the final agreement. The two countries have already agreed to have an interim or early harvest trade agreement by Christmas and a final free trade agreement or Comprehensive Economic Cooperation Agreement (CECA) by the end of 2022.

India and Australia plan to exchange of offers regarding the proposed CECA agreement by October. Australia has said it wants access to Indian e-commerce channels for its premium food, beverage, and consumer product companies.

In addition to the Australian government, trade bodies and groups representing American businesses such as the USIndia Business Council and the US-India Strategic Partnership Forum too have flagged several concerns on the proposed e-commerce rules in separate letters written on July 21. These pertain to clauses such as country of origin, mis-selling, registration of e-commerce entities, fall-back liability, and appointment of personnel already mandated under the new IT rules.

“These appointments not only unduly add to the compliance burden on e-commerce entities, there is no distinction between the roles and responsibilities of the various appointees… further, the obligation of RGO (Resident Grievance Officer) by an e-commerce entity overlaps with the similar obligation applicable to an intermediary under the Information Technology Act, 2000,” the US-India Strategic Partnership Forum noted in its inputs.

American companies Amazon and Walmart-owned Flipkart command a majority share in India’s e-commerce pie. Large domestic retail players such as Reliance Industries and the Tata Group too have plans to enter the segment.

Notably, in December 2020, the US Congressional Research Service, a bipartisan public policy research institute, had flagged concerns about “investment barriers” in India despite the aim to attract foreign investment. “US concerns about investment barriers persist nevertheless, heightened by new Indian restrictions on how e-commerce platforms such as Amazon and Walmart-owned Flipkart conduct business. From the US view, India’s weak regulatory transparency and other issues, such as IPR and localisation policies, add to concerns about FDI barriers,” it had noted.

Kapil sibal: if you have all institutions in your pockets, how do you run a democracy?

RESPoNDING to a question from the audience on reservation in institutions for higher studies, Sibal batted for greater push for uplifting marginalised groups in the early stage of their lives so as to level the playing field for them.

Rajya Sabha MP from Congress and former union minister Kapil Sibal on Saturday emphasised that a multifarious country such as India can be run only “through conversations, reaching out, understanding other point of views before you decide what to do.”

Speaking at the second edition of Girish Patel memorial lecture and on the occasion of Gandhi Jayanti at Ahmedabad, on the topic, ‘India in the age of Modi’, Sibal added that while Prime Minister Narendra Modi continues to invoke MK Gandhi’s ideals, his actions have been on the contrary.

Stating that he was not saying this as a Congressman, Sibal said that the wealth of nations resided in universities, and not in industries and “If you control your education system, which we have done and we have been trying to do, you destroy the spirit of innovation and a nation can never be wealthy…That’s what Modi has done to India. That is what we (UPA governments) also did to some extent but it has gone to another level now. You have an RSS guy who is a vice-chancellor now. You control your governors.”

Responding to a question from the audience on reservation in institutions for higher studies, Sibal batted for greater push for uplifting marginalised groups in the early stage of their lives so as to level the playing field for them. “When it comes to the marginalised, do away with the 50 percent (reservation), 100 percent of schools should be opened only for them (the marginalised) so that they can come to a stage where they can compete (in professional exams).

Sibal, who visited the Sabarmati Gandhi Ashram earlier in the day, said, “I realised the simplicity of the Ashram..The charkha represented aspiration, unity, self reliance…He (Gandhi) was spinning the charkha, and in the age of Modi, Modi spins the yarns, that’s the difference.”

He said that India is shaping up to be a country with the “economy of China, politics of Putin, and religious philosophy of Israel,” and to realise a “paradigm shift in politics” Sibal urged that a “fresh movement” needs to start where although “the rules of the (democratic) game have changed”, but one need not play by the changed rules. “Data is manipulated in this country…parameters of deciding on GDP and inflation are changed because they want to suggest to the country that ‘Look, GDP is doing well,’…You manipulate the Parliament, you manipulate the system, you have your own umpire,” he said.

“The Constitution represents the rule of the game and just as in cricket, you play by the rules of the game…there is a third umpire Election Commission of India, who never plays by the rules of the game…and if you have the umpire in the pocket, how do you play cricket?… And if you have all the institutions in your pockets, then how do you run a democracy?” the Congress leader said.

“You have the Parliament, the media, the ECI, courts, governors, investigating agencies, and other institutions are there to ensure that there’s a balance in a functional democracy. The change between 2014 and now is that that balance has been destroyed. The rules of the games have changed… Then people ask us that ‘the Congress party is not a good Opposition (party)’. How can we be the Opposition if they don’t play by the rules?,” asked Sibal.

Criticising the silencing tactic of the present government by use of sedition, UAPA in collusion with investigating agencies, Sibal stressed that “in a country like India where laws are misused in this fashion, the only safe harbor can’t be silence. If it is silence, then you are complicit…” Comparing India in the age of PM Modi, vis-a-vis India during the age of Gandhi, the former being “far removed” from the latter, Sibal said, “Gandhiji said that if you want to run a country, it can’t be run by 20 people at the centre. Modiji embraces Gandhi and yet two people at the centre run the country…”

‘My son is very happy… we talk about things that we can do now’: priti Vishrant Mane, 32 police naik, pune city

PoLICE personnel are entitled to one weekly off in Maharashtra.

The Maharashtra Police has reduced from 12 to 8 the daily duty hours of women police personnel below the rank of ASI, “to help them balance professional and personal lives”. Police personnel are entitled to one weekly off in the state.

how has the reduction of duty hours helped you?

The biggest change is it has given a sense of stability. The stress has significantly reduced.

What are the things you can do now with more time on hand?

In the hectic schedule around job, children, home and attending to elderly, finding time for oneself is very difficult. Now, when the system is making efforts to make more time available for you… I plan to use it for fitness and my hobbies. I want to take up calligraphy and learn a new language. I have always loved sketching, and want to explore if this can be useful in my police work.

Were you told the reason behind the decision?

Working long hours, often 24 hours at a stretch, can strain one’s mind and body. Some can find work and life balance, many can’t. It adversely affects work too. I believe the decision was taken to ensure this balance, which will help us perform our duties efficiently.

how have your male colleagues responded?

I believe the decision was taken considering all the necessary aspects. Our male colleagues have welcomed the decision and have been supportive, like always.

how has your family responded to the change?

Everyone at home is really happy obviously, especially my son. We have started talking about what we can do together now… The orders to implement the change in Pune City came into effect just a few days ago, on September 27.