E-commerce Across Borders: The Law Supports Both Brands and Operators

E-commerce platforms are more trending in the tech-savvy world, and smartphones and web services are flourishing in the market in a more significant manner. E-commerce is dealt more in the online platform and deals with the customer directly, just a click away. The platform captures both the national and international markets in an easy go.

Cross-border e-commerce is about buying and selling products and services between two persons or businesses or with a user or businessman. Either party should have different jurisdictions.

In the current scenario, the overseas border issues have been raised to the next level to track it. In the cross-border e-commerce platform, the sellers get connected to the international market to compete with the local retailers. Cross-border e-commerce adds new options to the local users to attract domestic markets.

To deal with the international sellers and get a hand in the Indian market, the retailers need specific rules and regulations. E-commerce is under the Consumer Protection(e-commerce) rules,2020, and other laws related to data protection, foreign, tax liabilities, and many more to consider the matter straightforwardly.

Even the e-commerce platform brings digital products over the online platform. In a business-to-business platform, India gets 100% FDI through an automatic route. Such Foreign Direct Investments are not permitted in business to consumer platforms. The goods and services from foreign countries that need to be sold in the Indian market follow FDI policy and the e-commerce entity’s norms. The framework follows specific laws to maintain transparency and uniqueness for the buyers.

The uniformity in the laws makes it crystal clear that the Consumer-to-Business relationship is healthy and good to establish the International and domestic markets fabulously. The Rules for all the e-commerce platforms set up in India are mandatory to follow and maintain the process as per the guidelines.

E-commerce includes the company established outside India and has a subsidiary business in India or through any middlemen or a foreign company and runs a business in India in any terms based on Consumer Protection rule(e-commerce)2020. Even the parent company has to follow the rules as the child or subsidiary company established in India. In the ambit of laws, the sellers are not allowed to practice any unusual affairs that will harm the dignity of the companies. The correct information is expected to display regarding goods and services sold, grievance redressal, if any, to solve the issues or queries.

The rules give primary importance to registering the company with its name and detailed information of the import of goods in India to attract the mind of the users. To make it transparent, it is assured to provide equal treatment to a local manufacturer and the suppliers in the digital platform. It adds a filter to distinguish the goods of the local market and the genesis of the country to which goods and services belong.

The Department of Promotion of Industry and Internal Trade has mentioned specific rules to represent on June 21, 2021. Some of the regulations are compulsory registration of the company, adequate disclosures of the sales in such mode, restricting the malpractice of the goods and services, and no irrelevant information regarding the goods and services to the consumers. They propose to hire a chief compliance officer to look into the complaints or issues generated and resolve the query.

The customers’ data are assured under the Information Technology Act 2000, and it is safe and protected too. The gathered information of the consumers, which are collected at times of any purchasing, is kept secret and secured. As per the provisions of the personal data protection bill 2019, the critical personal data to be stored in India and other personal data to be stored outside the nation have not been passed by the government of India.

The Indian Law system is strict in following the contracts, whether it be Labour Laws, contract law, Property law, and other required laws to look into the matter vividly. The contract for such a platform is also mandatory with the advancement of technology and usages of online e-commerce platforms. In case of glitches, the buyer and the seller contract come into play if they do not cooperate to fill the obligation. Even the return policy is implemented for customer satisfaction, and in case of wrong product quality, the refund is done within 2-3 days.

The products that are purchased and sold are of good standards to attract consumers in a significant way. The products are assured in their description and the ingredients or material used to pass on to the customers.

The call is to propose worthy cross-border e-commerce rules and regulatory framework for the system to work legally without any hindrance. Indian law bodies have dealt with various e-commerce regulatory frameworks to establish the business fascinatingly.

The need of the time is to accept the changes in the business pattern efficiently to deal with the international seller and take required steps to win the trust of both the seller from a foreign country and the buyer from their own country. Global products may take time to grab the market value and consumer attention, but they will revive the business and help grow the business without any obstacle.

We will flourish the domestic market with International and National products to catch the user’s eyes in a pretty different way. The sustainability of the market is the call of the need to make a considerable profit.

Rules and regulations of cross-border or overseas need to bother in serious notes to tackle the disruption rising now and then while willing to deal with the matter in a permanent way to resolve the query if any grows now and then.