Tag:GS2 || Governance and social Justice || Introduction || Public policy

Why in news ?

The Consumer Affairs Ministry recently released the E-Commerce Guidelines for Consumer Protection 2019.

What necessitated this?

India’s e-commerce sector is poised to grow four times to $150 billion by 2022.

However, it is still a work in progress when it comes to safeguarding customer interest .

. Consumers are still compelled to take wild chances in online transactions.

There is little they can do if their calls go wrong, as returns and reimbursements are risky and cumbersome.

There are no authentic ways to figure out if product reviews, ratings or even discounts are genuine.

Given these, a set of guidelines to protect the interests of consumers was a much called-for one.

What are the key guidelines?

An e-commerce entity shall not influence the price of the goods or services.

It should not adopt any unfair or deceptive methods to influence transactional decisions of consumers.

Entities are also not to falsely represent themselves as consumers and post reviews about goods and services.

The guidelines on returns and refunds are designed to favour consumers.

Marketplace entities (e-commerce platforms) will not be able to buy more than 25% from a single vendor.

They can also not give discounts on products or sell the goods of the companies in which there is equity participation by the marketplace entity.

What are the challenges?