The E-Commerce committee headed by NITI Aayog CEO Amitabh Kant held its first meeting on Monday to discuss issues related with the sector.
In the meeting, the Department of Industrial Policy and Promotion (DIPP) and IT body Nasscom gave detailed presentations to the members on fast the growing e-commerce sector, the PTI report published in TOI stated.
Last month, the government had set up the committee to look into all issues, including foreign direct investment norms, pertaining to the e-commerce industry. Members in the panel include officials from Ministry of Commerce and Industry and Department of Electronics and Information Technology, among others.
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Representatives from six states including Maharashtra, Karnataka, Assam, Punjab and Madhya Pradesh also attended the meeting as some e-commerce firms are facing taxation related issues in few states.
In order to provide a level-playing field to stakeholders, the government is mulling to frame a single policy for both offline retail business and e-commerce. The government has also proposed strict action against the errant E Commerce companies who are allegedly indulged in unethical trade practices. The Commerce and Industry Ministry has already set up a grievance redressal mechanism to look into the issues pertaining to E Commerce companies.
As per the current policy, 100 percent FDI is allowed via automatic route in the marketplace format of e-commerce. However, FDI has not been permitted in the inventory-based model of e-commerce .