Predatory pricing by e-commerce giants may wipe out competition and harm consumer choice in the long run. Consumers' data privacy and security are of paramount importance. These are some of issues that a Parliamentary Committee raised around the Ministry of Consumer Affairs' Consumer Protection (E-Commerce) Rules, 2020. The Committee on Subordinate Legislation, headed by Congress MP Partap Singh Bajwa, tabled its report on the Rules in Parliament on March 24. Drafted under the Consumer Protection Act, 2019, and notified in July 2020, the Rules require e-commerce marketplaces to mandatorily display country of origin on their products, with penal action for non-compliance. Players have to display the total price of goods and services along with a cost breakup; they also have to display details on return, refund, warranty, shipment and so on. The Rules prohibit manipulation of prices and imposing cancellation…
