E-commerce in
India is flourishing. However, many e-commerce players have entered
into the arena without much planning, preparation and keeping in mind
the legal compliance aspect in mind. Naturally, many of the
e-commerce ventures started in the year 2011 have closed down.
Further, consolidation of e-commerce industry of
India is also in progress. Many small e-commerce projects have been
acquired by larger e-commerce players to consolidate e-commerce
segment for their respective industry.
FDI
in wholesale trading and e-commerce sectors of India under
consolidated FDI policy of India 2012 was given a major
boost by Indian government. Further, the Parliament of India recently
approved
FDI in e-commerce sector of India. Thus, it is high time for
structuring
of investments in e-commerce businesses in India.
The most important aspects that both national and
international e-commerce players must keep in mind is that business
structuring of e-commerce in India must be done in a
techno legal manner.
The legal
formalities required for starting e-commerce business in India
are now well established. However, legal
issues in e-commerce in India are still not clear to many
national and international e-commerce business houses and
entrepreneurs. For instance, the legal
requirements to start an e-commerce website In India are
covered by many legislations including information technology act,
2000 (IT Act 2000). However, both national and international
e-commerce players are not complying with legal
issues of online shopping in India.
One segment that has tremendous potential in
e-commerce industry pertains to educational and books publication
sector. Traditional and print form books have dominated market share
for long. However, there is a gradual shift towards e-books
publication, distribution and e-commerce.
Asian countries, especially India, can offer great
commercial benefits to book publishers if they explore e-books
publication and distribution in India. However, while doing so these
e-book publishers must keep in mind the techno legal requirements
that most e-commerce players in India are presently ignoring.
Perry4Law
and Perry4Law’s
Techno Legal Base (PTLB) suggest that e-commerce business
houses must keep in mind the specified requirements of cyber
due diligence for Indian companies. Many companies
have already found themselves on the wrong side of Indian laws for
violating the same. There is no sense in ignoring Indian laws by
e-books publishers and distributors when they wish to trap the Indian
e-commerce market.
