The Consumer Affairs Ministry have issued new stricter draft rules for e-tailers in India to bring deep discounts under government scrutiny. According to the draft rules, e-tailers in India are prohibited from directly or indirectly influencing the price of the goods or services or indulge in any business practice that can influence transactional decisions of consumers.
The draft rules also specify that each the e-commerce entity will have to register themselves within 90 days of the notification of the rules. Also, they will have to display details of the sellers including the identity of their business, legal name, principal geographic address, name of the website, e-mail address and other contact details on the website.
The proposed rules mention that every e-tailer firm will have to publish on its website the name of the grievance officer and his contact details and the mechanism by which users can notify their complaints. In order to protect the interest of consumers, the rules mandate the e-commerce firms to display the terms of the contract between them and the seller relating to return, refund, exchange, warranty/guarantee, delivery/shipment, mode of payments, grievance redressal mechanism to enable consumers to make informed decisions.
The draft rules also say that the e-commerce firm will have to accept the return of goods if delivered late from the stated delivery schedule or delivery of defective, wrong products, which do not conform to the features advertised.
