KATHMANDU, June 12: The scope of e-commerce has been expanding with the ongoing threat of COVID-19, but the delay in the enforcement of related laws has left consumers in a miserable state, leaving no ground for them to follow and win a legal battle against any misconduct by the sellers.  

Approving the national strategy for e-commerce last June, the Cabinet had given the Ministry of Industry, Commerce and Supplies one year to draft the guidelines and regulations for the e-commerce sector. The strategy has allowed websites to be registered as e-commerce businesses under the Company Act. Similarly, it has also provisioned for a refund and return for goods purchased online. But as there are no specific laws to regulate the e-commerce sector, there are no proper guidelines to track the online traders, to penalize the unscrupulous traders who cheat the consumers and to compensate those who have suffered. 

A notable number of complaints that the Department of Commerce, Supplies and Consumer Protection received against such traders during the lockdown period also provides evidence of the growing anomalies in the segment. According to the department, it received over 50 complaints against 10 such traders for cheating their customers.

Rabindra Acharya, spokesperson for the department, said most of the complaints were related to misleading advertisements, selling of substandard products and problems in refunding the sold items, among others. “While the department attempted to bring them into the legal framework, many of them were found not registered at any government agencies,” Acharya told Republica Online.  

Citing the need for maintaining social distance to minimize the spread of coronavirus and the more than two months long nationwide lockdown, many traders and institution operators have started adopting the online platform to take forward their businesses. The scope of e-commerce has not faded even with the government easing the lockdown from Friday.  

The budget for 2020/21 also talks about enforcing new laws to monitor the rapidly growing e-commerce sector. Acharya said the department has been drafting a new act to track e-commerce. According to him, the department has planned to enforce guidelines for now to fill the gap created by the lack of laws for the sector. 

Based on the slow working procedures of the government bodies, it is uncertain when the related regulations and guidelines along with the act will come online to implement the law effectively, to provide respite to the consumers, according to consumer rights activists.  

 
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