Regulatory And Legislative Measures To Check Online Pharmacies Trading In Banned Drugs In India

Online pharmacies are flourishing world over including India. The Indian market share of online pharmacies has been increasing thanks to the growing use of Internet in India. However, this has also created legal and medico legal problems as well.

We have no dedicated e-commerce laws and regulations in India. Further, we also do not have any dedicated e-health laws and regulations in India. In fact, e-health in India is facing legal roadblocks and in the absence of regulatory and legislative measures, online pharmacies are growing unregulated. In the present circumstances, the legal enablement of e-health in India is urgently required.

However, even more grave are the concerns originating out of the use of e-trading for medical and non medical drugs in India. E-trading of medical drugs in India must be undertaken only after complying with the laws of India. There are many cyber laws due diligence requirements in India that e-traders of medical drugs in India must comply. Similarly, foreign websites targeting India for this purpose must also comply with Indian law in order to do legitimate business in India.

There are many online pharmacies that are trading in banned drugs in India as well. Realising the potential dangers arising out of the same, the Indian government has recently constituted a high-level committee to suggest regulatory and legislative measures to check online pharmacies trading in banned drugs in India.

The committee has been set up under the Narcotics Control Bureau (NCB) of India to check such sale of banned drugs in India and to prevent black money and finances criminal activities through online transactions. The committee has been constituted as a part of the new drugs policy recently revealed by Finance Minister Pranab Mukherjee.

However, online pharmacies are by their very nature technology driven. So the approach of Finance Ministry must be techno legal in nature. Fortunately the committee has proposed to establish “cyber patrol units” to intercept syndicates and individuals indulging in such criminal activities over the Internet.

Another good aspect of the proposed legislative initiative is the proposal to route and inspect international mail (containing contraband couriers) while ensuring active cooperation and exchange of information with other enforcement agencies like CBI, DRI and ED, within the country.

Perry4Law and Perry4Law Techno Legal Base (PTLB) welcome this move of Finance Ministry and proposed committee and we wish all the best to them in this regard.

Legal Issues In E-Commerce In India

Electronic commerce is one of the most profitable business ventures in India these days. Not only its present growth is good but even its future and projected growth is tremendous.

However, e-commerce in India is also required to be conducted in a legally permissible manner. This is more so when the information technology act 2000 (IT Act 2000) prescribes stringent penal and pecuniary penalties for violation of its provisions during e-commerce transactions.

The natural question arises as to what are the basic e-commerce laws in India that various e-commerce players must adhere to in order to escape civil and criminal sanctions? Although we have no dedicated electronic commerce laws in India yet the IT Act 2000 covers many aspects of the same. IT Act 2000 is the sole cyber law of India that has been invoked on numerous counts against e-commerce portals and Internet intermediaries in India who violated the provisions of the same.

The legal requirements for undertaking e-commerce in India also involve compliance with other laws like contract law, Indian penal code, etc. Further, online shopping in India also involves compliance with the banking and financial norms applicable in India. For instance, take the example of PayPal in this regard. If PayPal has to allow online payments receipt and disbursements for its existing or proposed e-commerce activities, it has to take a license from Reserve Bank of India (RBI) in this regard. Further, cyber due diligence for Paypal and other online payment transferors in India is also required to be observed.

With the active use of electronic commerce in India the electronic commerce dispute resolution in India is also required to be strengthened. The present litigation system of India is not conducive for the growth of e-commerce n India and online dispute resolution in India is more appropriate for such purposes.

Perry4Law and Perry4Law Techno Legal Base (PTLB) have launched dedicated platforms for resolving e-commerce, domain name, commercial, technological and cross border disputes resolution in India and word wide. These include platforms named Electronic Courts, E-Judiciary, ODR India, Online Arbitration, etc.

Finally, for those who wish to engage in cloud computing, virtualisation and other Internet based services in India, Perry4Law and PTLB recommend that they comply with techno legal regulations of India. Virtualisation and cloud computing service providers in India must not only follow the encryption laws of India but they must also ensure cyber law due diligence in India. This is more so when the cyber law due diligence for companies in India has become very stringent and foreign companies and websites are frequently prosecuted in India for non exercise of cyber due diligence.

Perry4Law and PTLB wish all the best to all e-commerce players in India and abroad.

Electronic Commerce Regulations And Laws In India

Electronic commerce is an area whose legal formalities cannot be taken lightly. Electronic commerce involves multiple jurisdictions and at times multiple laws of different countries are applicable to a single electronic commerce website.

Further, the landscape for electronic commerce dispute resolution in India is also fast changing. With more and more stress upon online disputes resolution (ODR) in India electronic commerce disputants now prefer ODR as a mechanism for dispute resolution. Corporate disputes resolution through ODR in India is also being explored. E-courts and ODR have also added their own valued to electronic commerce and corporate dispute resolutions in India.

Electronic commerce in India is witnessing a good growth due to progressive policies and liberal foreign direct investments (FDIs). E-commerce uses information and communication technology (ICT) to operate. Although many technological aspects are also taken care of by an e-commerce platform, yet establishment and running of an e-commerce website is the most important requirement.

Internet is boundary less and a website hosted in a particular country can be accessed from any part of the world. Further, there may be cases where a websites located in a particular country may attract legal jurisdictions of multiple countries. Thus, compliance with the laws of the principal country as well as those countries where such e-commerce websites targets audience and customers is of prime importance.

There have been instances where e-commerce websites located in India failed to observe cyber law due diligence in India and e-commerce regulations and laws in India. Criminal trials and criminal liabilities have been imposed by Indian legal system upon such websites. The bazee.com case and the criminal and civil trials against companies like Google, Yahoo, Facebook, Microsoft, etc are few examples of the same. Such cases against e-commerce websites and foreign companies would further increase and e-commerce players must appoint nodal officers in India to comply with Indian laws.

Thus, not only legal requirements for undertaking e-commerce in India are stringent but even Internet intermediaries liability in India must be taken seriously by companies engaged in online transactions and businesses. We have no dedicated e-commerce laws in India but the information technology act 2000 (IT Act 2000) covers basic level e-commerce legal framework in India. The IT Act 2000 also prescribes cyber due diligence for foreign websites in India.

E-commerce due diligence in India is a much needed requirement that all e-commerce players, whether Indians or foreign, must undertake as soon as possible. Non observation of local and foreign laws can tarnish the image and brand of a company that cannot be regained again. It is better to err on the side of precaution rather than caught on the wrong side of the law.

E-Commerce Laws In India

Technology has brought many important changes the way we deal in our day to day lives. Whether it is e-governance or e-commerce, individuals and companies are equally benefited due to use of technology.

Realising that cyberspace can bring many commercial benefits; both individuals and companies are ensuring that they have strong online presence. More and more brand promotion and protection in India are done these days in an online environment. Companies and individuals are also ensuring domain name protection in India so that their reputation and goodwill is not misappropriated by others.

We have no dedicated e-commerce laws in India. However, the information technology act 2000 (IT Act 2000), which is the sole cyber law of India, is regulating the e-commerce business and transactions in India. Internet intermediaries liability in India under the IT Act 2000 is very stringent. Cyber law due diligence in India is one aspect that all e-commerce site owners must frequently engage in.

Electronic commerce in India (E-commerce in India) has slowly and steadily entered the Indian market. Toady from tickets booking to purchasing of good and services, everything happens in an online environment.

Of course, where commercial transactions occur, disputes and differences are bound to occur. To prevent and resolve these disputes we need norms, regulations and laws that are acceptable to all the stakeholders.

The e-commerce law of India is primarily incorporated in the information technology act, 2000 (IT Act 2000) that takes cares of legal obligations of both sellers and buyers of good and services in cyberspace.

The IT Act 2000 prescribes rules and norms for online contract formulation. The traditional concepts of offer, acceptance etc, as applicable under the contractual laws, have also been covered by the IT Act 2000. The only difference is that they have been customised as per the requirements of cyberspace.

However, e-commerce transactions and contracts also attract certain additional legal liabilities that e-commerce players in India are not very much aware. For instance, very few e-commerce players in India are aware that they are “intermediaries” within the meaning of IT Act 2000. Further, there are very few e-commerce lawyers and law firms in India that can provide expert services in this regard.

Further, other laws, including intellectual property laws, make these e-commerce players labile for civil and criminal actions. For instance, these e-commerce players can be held liable for online infringement of copyright in India of the copyright owners.

Similarly, if any person posts an offending material at the e-commerce site or otherwise deal with the e-commerce site in an illegal manner, the e-commerce site owner may find himself in trouble.

Cyber law due diligence in India is one aspect that all e-commerce site owners must frequently engage in. The present laws of India are stringent in nature and subsequently claiming ignorance of such laws would not make much difference.

Perry4Law and Perry4Law Techno Legal Base (PTLB) strongly recommend that before opening an e-commerce site or business, the owner of the same must consult a good techno legal law firm that can advice him upon all the possible and applicable aspect of e-commerce laws in India.