There is an old story about 7 blind men trying to
figure out the shape of an elephant by touching different parts of the body of
an elephant and based on that , trying to imagine what the full elephant might
look like
Something similar is happening over the past few days
since draft of E Commerce Policy got released
With one difference
All the wise men ( and there are more than 7 ),are saying
:
“ E Com Policy
should NOT look like this “
Following are some of their comments :
(1) “ Single Regulator / single Law “ , is a stupid
idea . It will slow down decision-making
(2) Differential
voting rights for Start Ups may discourage FDI
(3) Digital
Economy is not something STATIC . It is continuously EVOLVING
(4) Should there
be separate laws for contract enforcement ? One for normal commerce
and another for E Commerce ?
(5) It is not
government’s job to micro-manage the prices
(6) Why should
Import Duty differ for goods imported via ELECTRONIC vs NORMAL
methods ?
(7) Why should
an officer certify eligibility , instead of leaving it to the players which
model
to follow ?
[ Inventory-led or Marketplace
]
(8) Why should
Government get into the business of launching E Commerce Platform ?
(9) The policy
is creating an Uneven Playing Field , between Foreign Companies and
Domestic Companies
(10) Why should
only Domestic Companies have the option of holding inventories ?
[
provided goods sold are entirely domestically produced ]
(11) How can government keep changing “ Regulatory
Goal Posts “ ?
(12) This smells of re-introduction of License
Raj !
(13) Is it government’s job to decide WHO shall
offer WHAT promotion scheme and
WHEN ?
(14) What is the idea behind saying :
*
Group companies of an E Commerce firm cannot take actions that influence
/ distort
final
process
* Bulk
purchases by “Related party sellers” of branded goods that lead to “ price
distortions “ shall be banned
(15) How can Regulator fix floor-prices and
prohibit deep discounts below a threshold
when technological advances [ eg : 3D Printing
– Use of Robots – AI etc ] are
continuously lowering manufacturing costs ?
What
is rationale behind fixing a specific sunset date after which “ deep discounts
“
must stop ? Large E Commerce firms in India are mostly
owned by the American /
Japanese / Chinese companies . If they are bringing in and pouring
dollars / yen /
yuan , to offer deep discounts to Indian
consumers , why should you bother ?
Why should the consumers be deprived of continuous
lowering of manufacturing
costs ?
(16) Discounts are offered by the Vendors and not
the E Com Platform. How will you
control
them ?
(17) What is idea behind allowing 49 % FDI in only
those Online Companies which sell
Indian goods ?
This recommendation goes against earlier
Press Note # 3, which must not be diluted
(18) Data
generated by E Commerce Firms :
Where is the need for a separate framework
exclusively for E Com firms when that
subject is fully covered by the SriKrishna
Committee ( Data Protection Law ) who has
recommended a Data Protection Authority ( DPA
) ?
(19) Govt should view retail from a multi-channel
lens and laws that apply to one channel
should apply to other retail formats as well –
whether OFFLINE or ONLINE
( Retailers Association of India - RAI )
(20) Kumar Rajagopalan [ CEO – RAI ] says :
“ There are many issues and ambiguity with
the policy, including the DEFINITION of
E COMMERCE
.
There is
no clarity on who is an e commerce player now . Almost every retailer in the
country uses technology and supports online
buying and delivery
Can
everyone be called e-commerce then ?
The new
draft suggestion seems to be dividing retail by channels, which are creating
confusion even from an FDI angle “
What is heartening is that the Government has invited
all stake-holders to send in their suggestions re changes / modifications that
they would like to be incorporated
Over the past 3 YEARS ,
I have sent my own views to the Policy Makers through following emails . Once
again , I urge all the stake-holders to consider these :
Defining E – Commerce [ 14 July
2015 ]
If You cannot lick them ;
Join them [ 24 July
2015 ]
WHO WILL OBSOLETE WHOM
? [ 20 Aug
2015 ]
E -
Commerce is Easy Commerce ! [ 15 Nov 2015
]
Not an easy task to define what is E Commerce ( and what is not
), considering all the possible permutations / combinations ( running into
LAKHS of them ! ) , of the following elements :
# NATURE
* A physical " Product
" ( Capital Goods / FMCG / Consumables / Perishables )
* A virtual " Service
" ( Medical advice / Legal advice / Consultancy /
Software etc )
# GEOGRAPHIC
SPREAD
* Across National
boundaries ( International Trade )
* Across State boundaries
( within India )
* Across Municipal
boundaries (within a State )
# SUPPLY- CHAIN /
INTERMEDIARIES
* Mfr >
Distributor > Dealer > Retailer >
Buyer
* Mfr >
Buyer
* Any disintermediation in
the above chain
# ORDER PLACEMENT / ACCEPTANCE
* In a physical location (
Shop / Store / Office / Factory / Home )
* In a virtual location
(Web site/Mobile App/SMS/ Email / Phone / Video Conference )
# DELIVERY
* Physically in a Shop /
Store etc where Buyer collects / picks-up from shelf
* Delivered to Buyer's
location, thru Delivery Boy
* Delivered to Buyer's
location, using a Drone
* Delivered to Buyer on his
home-based 3D Printing Machine ( using internet )
# PAYMENT
* Cash against delivery
* Pre-paid / Post-paid
Cheque
* Credit / Debit Cards
across counter
* Credit / Debit Cards thru
online Payment Gateways
* Through Mobile Wallets
* Electronic Bank Transfer
* Using Virtual Currency
like Bit-Coins
* Barter of Goods or
Services
# FOREIGN INVESTMENTS
* FDI in Manufacturing / Supply
Chain / Payment Gateways - Apps- Mobile Wallets
* FDI in Web sites like Amazon -
Flipkart - Alibaba - Snapdeal etc ( What percentage ? )
Can you think of any other " Elements " that I have
forgotten ?
In any case , given the fact that there can be lakhs ( if not
millions ) of permutations / combinations of the above-mentioned elements , one must not attempt to
define what is E Commerce ( and what is not ) , by inclusion or exclusion of these
elements in definition
Such a complex definition would lead to thousands of court cases
involving Governments and each court interpreting the definition , differently !
The ONLY DEFINITION that would satisfy
ALL of these permutations/combinations , is :
-----------------------------------------------------
Any exchange of " Value " between any number of parties , involving ,
# Goods or Services , on the part of one party
with,
# Money or its equivalent consideration , on the part of a second
party
with or without using,
# Intermediary services , on the parts of any other parties
Lessons from History ? [ 07 Jan 2016 ]
One Day , Everything will
Sell Online ! [
29 Mar
2016 ]
Missing the Woods for the
Tree ? [ 12 Aug
2016 ]
The best that the Committee can recommend is
adoption of the following :
-------------------------------------------------
Parekh's , " 3 Laws
of E-Commerce Economy "
- to be incorporated as 123rd
Constitutional Amendment
( with apologies to Isaac
Asimov's 3 Laws of Robotics !
) :
-----------------------------------------------
LAW # 1 :
Asimov :
A robot may not injure a human being or,
through inaction, allow a human being to come to harm.
Parekh :
Rules / Regulations of E-Commerce shall not come in the way of
unfettered creation of SELF
EMPLOYMENT
Any existing Law / Rule / Regulation that hinders a person to become
Self Employed, shall be treated as ultravires
Further , any Law / Regulation of " E-Commerce / FDI " which slows down
Investment ( Foreign or Local / Official or through channeling of BLACK MONEY
), shall be treated as " bad in law " and struck down
-------------------------------------------------------------------------
LAW # 2
Asimov :
A robot must obey the orders given it
by human beings, except where such orders would conflict with the First Law.
Parekh :
Laws / Regulations governing " E-Commerce / FDI "
shall be subservient to Laws / Regulations governing ,
" Commerce / Investment " .
Whenever any Public Authority / Court
finds conflict between the two , laws / regulations governing " Commerce /
Investments " , shall prevail under all circumstances , and in favor of
the self employed
------------------------------------------------------
LAW
# 3
Asimov :
A robot must protect its own
existence as long as such protection does not conflict with the First or Second
Laws.
Parekh :
Laws /
Regulations of " E-Commerce
/ FDI " which get over-ruled under LAW # 2 , shall immediately " Self
Destruct " in favor of unobstructed progress of TECHNOLOGIAL ADVANCES