Online shopping gets safer with proposed e-commerce guidelines

We all love to shop online. Sometimes we find a great deal and the products are delivered smoothly. Sometimes the experience is so bad that we swear on our smartphones to never shop online again.

The department of consumer affairs has drafted guidelines on e-commerce to help protect the interest of online shoppers.

How do the new e-commerce guidelines make your online shopping safer?

1. An e-commerce company (Example- Flipkart/Amazon/Snapdeal) cannot directly or indirectly influence the price of the goods or services.
2. Name and contact details of the grievance officer need to be published on their website.
3. They must display the process by which consumers can lodge their complaints.
4. No e-commerce firm can falsely pose as consumers and post reviews about goods and services in their name.
5.  To help consumers make an informed decision, the draft has proposed to make it mandatory for firms to display terms of a contract with the seller relating to – 

• Return
• Refund
• Exchange
• Warranty/guarantee
• Delivery and shipment
• Modes of payment

6. If an e-commerce firm comes to know about any fake products listed on their site, and the seller is unable to provide proof that it is genuine, the firm will have to take down the product listing. They will also have to notify consumers of the same.

7. Now, the sellers will be required to display a single-figure total and break up the price for the goods or services. This includes all compulsory charges such as delivery, postage, taxes and handling and conveyance charges.

8. It will be mandatory to mention safety and health care warnings.

9. Mentioning the shelf life of the product will also be required.

10. If the delivery is made on a later date than advertised, the return of goods has to be accepted by the e-commerce websites.

11. If a wrong/defective product is delivered than what was shown in the advertisement, the return of goods has to be accepted by the e-commerce websites.

12. All personally-identifiable information of customers must be protected.

13. The draft proposes to set a 14-day limit for payments toward refund requests.

The government is waiting for feedback on the draft guidelines. The stakeholders have been invited for comments on the subject by the Ministry of Consumer Affairs by 16 September 2019.

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