DRAFT E-COMMERCE GUIDELINES FOR CONSUMER PROTECTION 2019

DRAFT E-COMMERCE GUIDELINES FOR CONSUMER PROTECTION 2019

E-commerce guidelines to be mandatory under consumer protection law: Paswan

• Ram Vilas Paswan says stringent action against violators will be taken by a regulatory authority
• The e-commerce firms will be required to ensure that personally identifiable information of customers are protected and should not directly or indirectly influence the price of the goods

To protect consumer interest, the government on Tuesday said the guidelines drafted for e-commerce firms will be made mandatory under the new Consumer Protection Act and stringent action against violators will be taken by a regulatory authority.

Union Consumer Affairs Minister announced that Guidelines for e-commerce firms aimed at protecting the consumer interests issued earlier this month would become mandatory under the new Consumer Protection Act.

Salient features of the draft guidelines:

• The guidelines will be applicable on all business-to-consumer (B2C) e-commerce platforms.
• It seeks to protect personally-identifiable information of customers and set a 14-day limit for payments toward refund requests. 
• The Central Consumer Protection Authority (CCPA) would be established to promote, protect and enforce consumer rights. It would have the power to take action against violating firms.
• The platforms are also required to display terms of contract with the seller relating to return, refund, exchange, warranty, delivery and mode of payments.
• It proposes to make it mandatory for e-commerce entities to accept returns in the event the products delivered are “defective, wrong or spurious” or if they do not have the characteristics or features advertised.
• Every e-commerce entity has to publish the contact details of its grievance officer, who would have to address complaints within one month from the date of receipt.
• The final rules will be notified by December 2019.

Image Credits: https://www.medianama.com/2019/08/223-draft-e-commerce-guidelines-for-consumer-protection-2019-summary/

Source: The Hindu