One thing that we should note regarding the e-commerce industry is that there are currently very fewer rules and regulations that govern the industry. While the likes of Amazon and other major e-commerce stores have been doing what they do, they are also trendsetters in one way or the other.
Now, we are seeing the influence of the Indian Government in the Indian e-commerce sector more and more. You must have seen the earlier reports where Amazon CEO Jeff Bezos was not received with warmth during his Indian visit. This was the Indian Government’s answer to Bezos that they are not happy with Amazon’s working.
Now, we are seeing other measures taken by the Indian Government that might make Amazon and other local e-commerce companies happy. This new change in the Indian e-commerce industry is what the shoppers might not like, however, Because there is a possibility that you will have to spend more if you order from foreign e-commerce sites in India. Basically, the Indian Government is planning to introduce a prepaid tax and customs duty for cross-border transactions as per INC42’s report.
This will mean that the cost of buying goods from outside India will cost 50% more than as the taxes will be added to the final prices. As per the sources from inside the government, this move is to crack down on the illegal import of goods inside the country and then selling it.
Now, there was already a scanner on e-commerce platforms in India such as ClubFactory, Shein and others who were reportedly getting away with importing products inside the country marking them as “gifts”. As per India’s regulations, there are no import fees on gifts which is why they were marked as such. Also, there was an instance where a portal was charged for labelling products as B2B even though they were sent to customers.