The government plans the formation of a regulatory body and the enactment of a new law to monitor the e-commerce sector strictly amid reports of fraudulent incidents.
Commerce Minister Tipu Munshi gave the information at a press conference after a joint meeting at his ministry on the recent problems in the e-commerce sector, report BSS and UNB.
“This e-commerce regulatory authority will provide registration to e-commerce firms and strictly monitor the digital business,” said the minister.
Tipu Munshi mentioned that there will be a detailed e-commerce law to be enacted soon alongside establishing a central complaint cell.
"We will try to ensure that these companies cannot cheat customers anymore. Every company must obtain a unique business identification number from the commerce ministry," Tipu said.
He also urged people to control their greed to buy products at lower prices from e-commerce platforms to keep themselves safe from fraudulence.
Referring to allegations against some e-commerce firms, the minister said the government cannot shut down the entire e-commerce sector for the fraudulence of 10-12 companies as thousands of people are involved in the sector.
“Tough action will be taken against those who’ve committed crimes. The government has taken necessary steps so that no one can cheat customers in the future,” he said.
The minister said that the Digital Security Act and Money Laundering Act will be amended to ensure legal actions against fraudulent companies.
Tipu noted that there were some legal complexities about refunding customers of Jubok and Destiny group by using those companies' assets.
According to the minister, transactions worth Taka 60.0 billion took place in the e-commerce sector before the introduction of the escrow service on June 4.
Following its introduction, products worth Taka 4.0 billion have been ordered through the service and Taka 2.0 billion has been transacted.
The minister said that companies like Evaly and Alesha Mart wasted a lot of their assets on advertisements and sponsorships.
Answering another question, the commerce minister said they have arranged the meeting out of their obligations. "We don't want to escape those obligations."
Home Minister Asaduzzaman Khan Kamal, Law Minister Anisul Huq, Information and Broadcasting Minister Dr Hasan Mahmud, Commerce Secretary Tapan Kanti Ghosh, Bangladesh Competition Commission Chairman Md Mofizul Islam, Digital E-Commerce Cell Head and WTO Director General (Additional Secretary) Hafizur Rahman, IGP Dr Benazir Ahmed, Director General of RAB Chowdhury Abdullah Al-Mamun and other senior officials were present at the meeting.