CYBERLAWS IN INDIA
Congratulations for being the visitor to this site!
This site is meant for information on the latest updates of the cyberlaw scenario in India. To provide an impetus for the growth in e-commerce in India, it is very important that the Indian laws governing e-commerce are in place. This site will keep providing the latest and hottest information on the developments on the internet law front! Happy surfing!
J !|
|
|
|
|
|
Indian IT Bill yet to take offEven after great enthusiasm started off by Minister of Information Technology Pramod Mahajan and passing of the IT Bill, the implementation is not in sight. Is it that India is confused on Cyberlaws? An interesting interview of Pawan Duggal, founder of Cyberlaws.net.Dot Com dealsDot com deals seem to be the order of the day after the Sabeer Bhatia’s Hotmail.com to Microsoft’s MSN.com paved the way. The latest in the offing is - a couple of venture funds have just ponied up $25m for a 20-to-24 per cent stake in Chaitime.com , which essentially puts the value of the internet portal somewhere between $104m/Rs 447 crore and $125m/Rs 538 crore. And to think Satyam Infoway was out of its mind to shell out $115m for IndiaWorld!Cyber Sales Evolving advertising rulesSecurity of transactions was once the main concern of entrepreneurs jumping on the e-commerce bandwagon. Today consumer protection is on top of the agenda. Availability of hi-tech gizmos, web-seals and even simple encryption techniques provide security. Cybermalls still need safety signpostsConsumers@shopping, a report by Consumers International (CI), has shown startling results after conducting a survey. Its member consumer organisations in 11 countries ordered a total of 151 items from websites in 17 different countries. The project revealed that regulators and retailers have a lot of work to do before the Internet can be a safe shopping environment. 1st E-commerce Bureau Set UpLG Soft India(LGSI) has set up the first e-com bureau in the country with secure online payment gateway. It provides secure order management services like buyer registration, order capture, credit card verification, payment processing right upto the delivery of the product to customers premises.So, now retailers without the necessary infrastructure, who wish to offer web based sales can outsource it to LGSI! Good start for India! Govt. plansThe Government is planning to issue an ordinance to enforce cyberlaws to facilitate e-commerce in India. The cyberlaw Bill seeks to give legal recognition to electronic records by granting legal validity to information stored in the form of an electronic record. CyberKanoon RequirementsThe CyberKanoon must provide for : |
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
The much awaited
Information Technology Bill '99 received the okay from both the houses of the Parliament, amidst protest from the opposition. Minister of Information Technology Pramod Mahajan announced that IT Act will come into force in August. The government was forced to reject two controversial proposals made by the standing committee of the Parliament, which had recommended 36 amendments to the original draft. The industry has welcomed the development. The stock market too, on Wednesday, reacted positively.The ball is now in the court of the industry and the consumers. Nasscom feels that IT Bill will boost e-commerce transaction in the country by 500 per cent. Mr Mahajan has also said that the police will be trained in tackling cyber crimes. We can expect a lot of drama in the next few months.
So finally the Indian Government has started paving the way for bright and prosperous e-commerce opportunities! All you entrepreneurs and professionals, let’s get started!
Back to TopMORE NEWS
Cyber Sales Evolving advertising rules
A recent report issued by the Global Information Infrastructure Commission (GIIC) admits that the term ‘consumer protection’ has taken on a variety of meanings in electronic commerce; one of the top areas of focus is now `truth in advertising’ and `transparency in marketing’.
In the electronic marketplace, people lack face-to-face interaction, they cannot hold or test a product before they buy and have to rely solely on the information presented online.
Providing accurate information is essential to generate trust, says GIIC’s exhaustive report, which points out the development in various countries.
Direct marketers, including online sellers, have to inform customers about nine transactional issues, namely, the sales price and shipping charges, the payment terms, delivery information, merchandise-return policy, the seller’s name, address and phone number and the name of a contact person.
India needs self-regulation. Many Indian sites have privacy and copyright policies, but advertising bodies like the ASCI (Advertising Standards Council of India) or the AAAI (Advertising Agencies Association of India) need to address self-regulation issues. Formal legislation is still awaited.
Maybe cyber selling will change the rules of advertising and marketing too!
Cybermalls still need safety signposts
The Consumer Guidance Society of India is one of the Indian members. CI has released its list of recommendations for cyber retailers. Some of the recommendations are as follows:
1. Consumers must be provided with details of the retailer’s identity and physical location.
2. Consumers should be made aware of the full name of the company they are dealing with as this may not always be the same as their web-address. This is important in view of the recent spate of domain name squatting.
3. Web-sites should make it clear to the consumer which countries they deliver to, before the or-der process is embarked upon. Price information should be transparent.
4. If web sites are marketing globally, it is important that web-sites have a facility to incorporate the delivery charges in the total price as also currency conversion.
5. Cyber retailers must design sites to ensure that purchasers are shown the terms and conditions before confirming their order or are offered a link to click on the terms and conditions, suggests the report.
CI firmly believes that the law governing Internet transactions should be the law of the consumer’s home country, to ensure familiarity with the procedures. If a cyber retailer specifies that the law governing transactions on its web site will be that of its own country, this must be highlighted to the consumers.
In addition, the consumer must have the right to pursue a dispute within his own country.
Jurisdiction remains an issue for settling cross-border disputes in cyber shopping.
But a Web Assurance Bureau set up in the US in 1995 attempts to serve as a mechanism for consumers to resolve disputes between cyber shoppers and sellers, the latter have to register with it for a fee.
CI adds that the ordering process must be unambiguous and permit forthwith cancellation of orders.
In order to complete the contract, the consumer should be sent an acknowledgement or confirmation of the order.
As regards return of goods, CI suggests that the consumers must have the right to return goods within a specified time limit sans any reason. This policy must be displayed on the web site including information about any costs which may have to be incurred by the consumers.
In India, consumers protection laws or even self-regulatory guidelines relating to cyber shopping have yet to evolve.
Seems like the age of "consumer is the king" is here to stay!
To make eBusiness possible several amendments have been made to several legislations :
Information Technology Bill 1999
Information Technology National Task Force 1999
State IT Policies
Last Updated On : 12th October 2000 13:00hrs IST
Author : Aditya Sharma
The author is a Company Secretary of one of the largest MNCs. His total work experience of 9+ years is in providing expert legal advice and risk management in the management consulting service industry. His interest lies in analysing and providing an insight into the emerging cyberlaws of India.He regularly keeps abreast of the developments in the Ministries which are to pass cyberlaw Bills. He is an avid reader of any e-commerce related article or news and specialises in doing an impact analysis with special reference to the Indian context.