Indian Government Orders Notifying If An Online Product Is From China

Harin - Jul 14, 2020

E-commerce platforms have been ordered by the Indian government to clearly display the products’ country of origin when uploading them on their sites.

With the nation boycotting Chinese products after the border clash between the Indian and Chinese army, the government is tightening the regulations for products sold on e-commerce platforms like Flipkart, Amazon, and other sites.

E-commerce platforms have been ordered by the Indian government to clearly display the products’ country of origin when uploading them on their sites. This should be done as early as August 1 for upcoming products and October 1 for existing items.

The officials revealed this decision at an online meeting with e-Commerce giants of the country. An official said that, by doing this, the authorities would like to curb imports.

According to current law, it isn’t mandatory to display the country of origin on non-packaged goods. This will soon be changed as the Department for Promotion of Industry and Internal Trade is discussing with the consumer affairs ministry to come up with necessary legal provisions.

E-commerce giants have voiced their concern about the deadline, saying they might need more time. While Flipkart has suggested August 15 as the deadline, Amazon said it would need two to three months.

Amazon — E-commerce giants have voiced their concern about the deadline, saying they might need more time.

The authorities are also going to go over the Legal Metrology Rules concerning pre-packed commodities such as groceries. Details like country of origin, manufacturing date, expiry date, quantity, and manufacturing details will be added.

Some e-Commerce executive believes that this will give offline sellers an upper hand. They add that instead of asking e-commerce sites to do this, the government should ask manufacturers to show details of their products like origin, assembly, etc.