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Consumer body bats for regulatory authority on lines of RERA

Registration of online sellers, proper accounting of their sales and strict quality control are some of the benefits that will automatically occur from OCRA, says MS Kamath

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Amidst ongoing efforts by e-commerce players to lure consumers by making lucrative offers, the Consumer Guidance Society of India (CGSI) has made a strong pitch for the establishment of a regulatory authority which will work as one window grievance redressal system for consumers. CGCI, which is a leading consumer organisation since 1966, has appealed to the Centre to enact a new law for the formation of Online Commerce Regulatory Authority (OCRA) on the lines of the Real Estate Regulatory Authority (RERA).

CGCI honorary secretary Dr MS Kamath told DNA,'' Registration of online sellers, proper accounting of their sales and strict quality control are some of the benefits that will automatically occur from OCRA. The online commercial market is expected to grow at a 30% compound annual rate for gross merchandise value worth $200 billion by 2026. As the industry grows, there is also a clamour of complaints against online commerce companies of cheating their consumers and often delivering them goods which are far short of what they offer in their advertisements.''

He informed that in 2017 that CGCI received 275 complaints against online commerce players. ''Of the 275 complaints, Amazon constituted 13.86%, Flipkart 12.87%, Paytm 11.55%, Snapdeal 7.59% and E Bay 7.26%.

According to Kamath, the OCRA will be quite different from one proposed by the Centre in the e-commerce policy. ''As per the e-commerce policy, the independent regulator will deal with consumer complaints, compliance with FDI caps. However, CGCI has proposed OCRA to deal with the registration of all online commercial retailers and suppliers, regulate their advertisements and ultimately make e-commerce companies accountable with authorities to attend to the grievances faced by the consumers and avoid multiple frauds,'' he said.

The proposed law will also have a provision for timely and assured delivery, transparent refund mechanism, post-sale services, enforcement of post sales warranty, the establishment of Consumer Protection Fund and formation of online courts.

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