Deadline to post remarks on draft e-trade coverage in all likelihood to be extended

Multiple industry lobbies had asked for at least a month to reply to the draft from the announcement date on February 23.

Much to the relief of e-commerce agencies, including Amazon and Flipkart, the March 9 cut-off date for filing comments on the draft e-commerce policy will probably be prolonged to March 31, sources informed Moneycontrol.

In a letter written to the Department for Promotion of Industry and Internal Trade (DPI) last week, a couple of industry lobbies had asked for at least a month to respond to the draft from the announcement date on February 23. In a meeting with the stakeholders on March five, an old DPIIT representative assured them of an extension until March.

“This coverage is a massive one with a couple of matters to have a look at. Most of the clauses may have long-term implications on the manner in which the industry will develop. Hence, two weeks is too small a time to seek advice from every person and come back with a nice concept through reaction,” said one of the agencies, worried.

The 41-web page draft e-commerce policy specializes in records, infrastructure improvement, regulatory concerns, and the stimulation of the virtual home economy, amongst others. While offline investor associations have welcomed the move, not many corporations are impressed with the proposals.

“The primary premise of the policy is not very clean. It is largely based on the apparel of e-trade statistics. It suggests that facts are a useful resource. However, facts are not freely available. To supply that, businesses need to innovate,” stated one of the enterprise stakeholders, soliciting anonymity.

Many are seeing the draft as a precept pushed coverage. “Policy wishes to be prescriptive. There are desires to be precise, doss and don’ts. This is presently lacking,” said another company.