India needs an E-commerce policy as E-commerce portals have become a dumping ground for cheap Chinese imports without any substantive value addition, the Confederation of All India Traders (CAIT) said on Monday.
Mandatory mentioning of Country of Origin and contents of value addition will inform the consumers about the fundamentals of each product so that they have a choice to select products, CAIT national Vice President Amar Parwani said in a statement.
He said that demand for an early rollout of E-commerce policy in India has been raised by CAIT before Union Commerce Minister Piyush Goyal.
This is to ensure that the upcoming E-commerce policy addresses the creation of an even level playing field, formation of a Regulatory Authority, puts an end to the ongoing malpractices of deep discounting and predatory pricing, controlling inventory and making it mandatory to mention Country of Origin and contents of value addition on each product to be sold on E-commerce platforms, he said.
Parwani said CAIT felt that the upcoming E-commerce policy is extremely crucial for the future of retail trade in India because it is growing by leaps and bounds.
The Covid-19 pandemic has increased the use of digital platforms. It is expected that during the coming festival season, the usage of E-commerce will touch new heights as people will move to digital portals because of fears associated with traditional shopping.