DPIIT to discuss ‘country of origin’ tag with etailers

BENGALURU: The Department for Promotion of Industry and Internal Trade (DPIIT) has called a meeting of leading e-commerce companies on July 8 to take forward its discussion on getting the online platforms to display the ‘country of origin’ of goods that they sell.The discussion comes at a time when the government has clamped down on imports from China, banned 59 Chinese apps on the grounds of data security and privacy, and appealed to consumers to purchase locally made products.This will be the second meeting between DPIIT and e-commerce firms on the issue. The first took place on June 24.ET reported then that all the ecommerce firms had agreed to display the ‘country of origin’ of products but had sought a few months’ time to update existing listings.“...to discuss the provision of displaying the origin of products on e-commerce and extent of value added in India,” read the mail from the DPIIT to e-commerce firms, which ET has seen.A top executive of an e-commerce firm, who has been part of these discussions, told ET that the meeting will likely set the timeframe for implementation of the rule, and ensure existing listings on e-commerce platforms are compliant with the new rule.The government is looking to mandate e-commerce companies to display the country of origin on their product listings through the Legal Metrology (Packaged Commodities) Rules, 2011, which was later amended in 2017 to ensure that all mandatory disclosures such as country of origin were made by e-commerce players.Earlier this week, the Delhi HC sent notices to the Ministry of Commerce and Industry and leading e-commerce firms such as Amazon, Flipkart, Snapdeal, Decathlon, Nykaa and a few others, after a plea sought directions to the online players to display the ‘country of origin’ of products sold on their platforms.

from Economic Times https://ift.tt/2D0Bufg