This draft proposes a complete set of principles and guidelines for e-commerce self-governance, with the goal of supporting an ethical and responsible e-commerce ecosystem.

Key Principles

Draft divides e-commerce transaction principles into three phases – Pre-Transaction Principles, Contract Formation Principles, and Post-Transaction Principles.

• Pre-Transaction Principles
  • E-commerce entity must ensure authenticity of sellers with details of their place of business, key managerial personnel, financial information etc. 
  • Disclosure of relevant information including product/service description, final consumer price, cancellation/exchange/return policies, safety warnings, seller details, country of origin etc. 
• Contract Formation Principles:
  • Entity shall record express informed consent of consumer and not in the form of pre-ticked checkboxes.
  • Enable transaction review before final payment.
  • Transparent process and policies for cancellations, returns, and refunds, clearly specifying charges and time limits.
  • Maintain complete transaction records and secure payment systems with encryption and two-factor authentication etc.
• Post-Transaction Principles:
  • Easy return, exchange, refund or dispute resolution process with single point of contact toll-free number, estimated resolution time, grievance officer etc.
• General Principles:
  • Prohibition on selling of banned products with monitoring mechanisms and seller background checks.
  • Fair Business Practice with no preferential treatment, following packaging norms etc.
  • Provisions for addressing counterfeit products and mechanism for reporting instances of intellectual property rights.