India's Competition Commission mulls e-com 'soft advisory'

11 Dec '19

1 min read

Pic: Shutterstock

The Competition Commission of India (CCI) is mulling over issuing a ‘soft advisory’ to e-commerce platforms regarding self-regulation of various aspects of their business activities, including transparency regarding ranking and rating mechanisms. CCI started a study on e-commerce market in May and the findings would be released this month.

As a pre-emptive or precautionary measure, the regulator might issue a “soft advisory to e-commerce platforms to self-regulate certain aspects of their practices to foster trust and a predictable relationship with the business users so that full competitive potential of e-commerce can be harnessed", CCI chairperson Ashok Kumar Gupta said recently.

The aspects might include transparency over ranking, data, and review and rating mechanisms, Gupta said in a speech last week.

"These are complex issues and gauging the net impact on competition may not be as simple and straightforward," he noted.

According to Gupta, the study would allow the regulator to further incorporate the feedback in "our final advisory such that practices of e-commerce platforms promote competition and consumer welfare".

Fibre2Fashion News Desk (DS)

More E-commerce News - India...