A newly constituted high-powered committee is now doing homework to draft a digital commerce act and a regulatory authority by November with intent to discipline the crisis-ridden sector.
As part of the exercise, commerce ministry has recently constituted a 16-member high-powered panel to this end.
The panel will prepare a draft act on digital commerce to control and operate the next two months.
It also will create a structure and modus operandi of the proposed regulatory authority. Besides, the committee will submit a set of recommendations within the next two weeks to resolve the ongoing online trade-related complicacies.
An inter-ministerial review meeting at commerce ministry on September 22 suggested formation of a separate regulator and a separate actor for the sector.
Other recommendations include a central complaint management cell, mandatory registration provision, action against schemers and amending the Digital Security Act and Money Laundering Prevention Act.
Home minister Asaduzzaman Khan, law minister Anisul Huq and information minister Dr Hasan Mahmud joined the meeting chaired by commerce minister Tipu Munshi.
Commerce secretary Tapan Kanti Ghosh, IGP Benazir Ahmed, and representatives from different state agencies and e-Commerce Association of Bangladesh (e-CAB), among others, attended the meeting.
Additional secretary (IIT) AHM Shafiquzza-man is the convener of the powerful panel. One deputy secretary of the central digital commerce cell under commerce ministry will be the member secretary.
It has representatives from law, post and telecoms division, ICT division, central bank, consumer rights protection directorate, Bangladesh Competition Commission, Dhaka University, BUET, WTO cell under commerce ministry, a2i Programme, FBCCI, BASIS, e-CAB and a Supreme Court lawyer.
When asked, a senior commerce ministry official said: "We've initially started work on a proposed act and a separate regulatory body. The high-powered panel will meet at the soonest."
Currently, the country has no law to govern the growing e-commerce sector to check any fraudulence by dot-coms.
However, it has the Digital Commerce Policy-2020 and the Digital Commerce Operational Guide-2021.
The authorities concerned have recently detected fraudulent acts by a good number of dot-coms in the name of e-commerce and thus taken punitive action against the perpetrators.
The problematic platforms include Evaly, Dhamaka, e-Orange, Sirajganj Shop, Aladiner Prodip, Boom Boom, Adyen Mart, Needs, Qcoom.com and Alesha Mart.
In a recent report to commerce ministry, the scam-hit Evaly revealed that it had owed more than Tk 2.058 billion to its merchants until July 15.
Its liabilities stood at Tk 5.43 billion until July 15. However, the shopping portal did not mention any deadline to make payments to the merchants.
Until July 15, Evaly owed about Tk 3.11 billion to customers, it said on August 26 in response to the ministry's show-cause notice.
The firm has more than 200,000 customers. To date, more than 7.0-million products against purchase orders have been delivered 'successfully', it added.
The Anti-Corruption Commission launched an enquiry into Evaly's irregularities following a request from the ministry on July 04.
On the other hand, commerce ministry has also formed a high-powered technical committee for greater interests of the e-commerce sector.
Additional secretary and director general (DG) of the WTO cell of commerce ministry Md Hafizur Rahman is the convener of the 16-member committee.
The committee has been formed with an eye to resolving problems arising out of e-commerce, consumers, sellers' payment and technical issues.
Besides, it will provide all required technical suggestions to the ministry concerned, if need be.
