JOIN USGovt wants 'country of origin' tag on products sold online by August 1: Report
The government is likely to make the display of ‘country of origin’ on products sold online mandatory beginning 1 August, sources told Mint.
The Department for Promotion of Industry and Internal Trade (DPIIT) held a second meeting on Wednesday that was reportedly attended by representatives of close to 30 ecommerce companies.
The issue was first discussed in detail on June 24 between officials of DPIIT and representatives of e-commerce companies, including Amazon, Flipkart, Snapdeal, Tata Cliq, Paytm, Udaan and Pepperfry.
According to the report, DPIIT officials made it clear that the government is looking to have ‘country of origin’ available for new listings on e-commerce platforms by 1 August, and for older listings by the end of September.
“We heard the views of the ecommerce players. A date for implementation of the ‘country of origin’ proposal has not been finalized yet. We will consult with the department of consumer affairs before taking a final call as packaging is their domain," a DPIIT official told the publication on condition of anonymity.
Amazon and Flipkart are said to have requested a timeline of three months to execute the proposal. “Amazon said it has lakhs of sellers, and it will be difficult to convince them to mention ‘country of origin’ for every product, asking for a timeline of three months. Flipkart shared the same sentiment, and said it needs to train sellers and rejig its tech platform," one of the executives who attended the meeting told the publication.
Earlier, traders' body CAIT asked the government to ensure that the upcoming ecommerce policy makes it mandatory the mention of the 'country of origin' and contents of value addition on each product to be sold on e-commerce platforms. The body had written to Commerce and Industry Minister Piyush Goyal in this regard.
The move comes after 20 Indian army personnel were killed last month in the bloodiest clash with Chinese troops in 45 years in Ladakh. India has since taken a host of measures to reduce its economic dependency on China, including banning 59 applications including TikTok.