Dear
Shri Praveen Khandelwalji :
In
a news appearing in Economic Times ( 07 Aug ) ,you are quoted as :
“
Concerns of all , along with the overall recommendations, will be shared with
Union Commerce Minister , Suresh Prabhu “
While
doing so , I urge you to consider the issues raised by me in my following blog
With
regards,
Hemen
Parekh / Mumbai / hcp@Recruitguru.com
The E Commerce Elephant
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
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