The Confederation of All India Traders (CAIT) hit out at NITI Aayog for interfering in the draft E-Commerce Rules proposed by the Consumer Affairs Ministry and said that the Indian government's think tank is working according to the whims and fancies of foreign e-commerce companies. Praveen Khandelwal, CAIT Secretary-General, also wrote a letter to Piyush Goyal, Union Minister for Commerce and Consumer Affairs, reiterating that the last date for submissions on the draft rules was July 21, 2021, and considerable time has elapsed since the due date. He urged Goyal to roll out the e-commerce policies at the earliest, ahead of the festive season to ensure smooth compliance with the rules so that e-commerce entities can conduct their businesses in a stipulated manner. NITI Aayog had objected to the Ministry of Consumer Affairs proposing amendments to E-Commerce Rules 2020 stating that several provisions didn’t fall under the jurisdiction of the ministry and should be reconsidered. This indicates that there are differences within the government regarding the policy in its current form. Read: Summary of the proposed amendments to E-Commerce Rules, 2020 NITI Aayog’s Objections As per reports, NITI Aayog had raised several objections regarding the draft e-commerce rules such as - Other departments like the Department for Promotion of Industry and Internal Trade (DPIIT) or the Commerce Department or the Home and IT ministries should draft the rules since several provisions fall beyond the jurisdiction of the consumer protection department. 72 hours timelines for e-commerce firms to respond to…
