Foreign companies left out of the deliberations in the initial round of the e-commerce policy have approached the government to be consulted by the committee of secretaries.
During the initial discussions on the draft e-commerce policy released in July, the government had invited e-commerce and internet companies with Indian-led promoters to be part of the task force that deliberated on the draft policy, leaving the foreign companies upset.
This time, Industries bodies like US-India Strategic Partnership Forum (USISPF) have sent formal representations to the ministry of commerce and industry to be included in the drafting of the e-commerce bill.
USISPF chief Mukesh Aghi, said, “Despite their large contribution of more than $10 billion to growth of India’s e-commerce sector, the government has not involved some key companies in the formal process of drafting the policy. USISPF has reached out to the ministry of commerce to be formally included in drafting the e-commerce bill in India and to contribute as a thoughtful participant in the process.”
Nisha Biswal, President of US-India Business Council, said that the body was willing to work with the Indian government to find solutions to the government’s concerns without imposing unnecessary and burdensome regulations.
According to Biswal, the recent draft policies under discussion if adopted will neither enhance privacy nor security and will reduce trade, investments, and technology exchange, owing to forced localisation and restricted data flow measures.
After the first draft of the e-commerce policy was dropped, being called too restrictive by some players, a new committee of secretaries was formed by the government. The committee was chaired by Ramesh Abhishek, secretary in the Department of Industrial Policy and Promotion (DIPP).
The committee consists of the ministry of electronics and IT, department of commerce, along with representatives of Niti Aayog and the department of economic affairs.
It held its first meeting last week and is open to feedback and comments from all companies including foreign companies.