Entrepreneurs do not want new e-commerce law, regulator
People concerned in the e-commerce sector have said there is no necessity for the formulation of a new law to control the sector as well as the formation of a separate regulatory body to bring discipline to the sector.
Entrepreneurs and lawyers involved with the online business made these remarks at a virtual dialogue organised by the Centre for Policy Dialogue (CPD) on Saturday.
They said the government should implement the existing laws and coordinate among its agencies instead of enacting a new law or forming a regulatory body.
Moderated by CPD executive director Fahmida Khatun, the event was addressed by CPD chairman Rehman Sobhan, lawyer Tanjib-ul-Alam, Brac Bank managing director Selim RF Hussain, Bdjobs founder Fahim Mashroor, Chaldal.com founder and chief executive officer Waseem Alim, ShopUp chief of staff Ziaul Haque, Asix Bangladesh managing director Afsana Asif and e-Commerce Association Bangladesh (eCAB) general secretary Abdul Wahed, among others.
Waseem Alim said, “Even the country like the US does not have any separate regulatory agency for e-commerce. We have heard that the government will set up a separate regulatory body. It will make e-commerce more difficult. If the government strengthens monitoring through the existing agencies, it will be more effective.”
Fahim Mashroor said, “We don’t want a new regulatory agency for e-commerce in the country. The Directorate of National Consumers' Right Protection (DNCRP) will have to be strengthened more to bring discipline in e-commerce. It has become mandatory to hold the DNCRP accountable. If necessary, the DNCRP will have to be strengthened more.”
He further said the central bank had a big role in controlling e-commerce but they failed. These events took place under Bangladesh Bank’s nose. Their negligence was clear here and the role of banks also remains under question, he added.
Fahim Mashroor said, “Unemployment is a big problem in the country. A large number of youth is unemployed and they have invested in e-commerce. Since there are no jobs, they will, of course, come to e-commerce. Banks give low interest. Capital markets are not stable. So, where will this youth go? It is not right to think that everything will be solved overnight once a regulatory body is set up.”
Ziaul Haque said transaction of huge amount of money was conducted in banking channels and what was the role of the banks there. If e-commerce is monitored, no new law will be necessary.
Afsana Asif said, “The difference between Amazon and the e-commerce firms in our country is our firms take more time in delivery. Besides, Amazon maintains transparency in each operation and this is not case for our country.”
Selim RF Hossain said e-commerce is a new industry. Nobody alone can be blamed for whatever happened in e-commerce, everyone has their own faults. Now, it’s necessary to recover the plundered money, he added.
Abdul Wahed said, “We informed the government three years ago that such a situation might arise. Transparency was not maintained in e-commerce. The business model of Evaly and others had lots of inconsistencies. But, no step was taken at that time.” There is a huge lack of coordination among the stakeholders concerned including DNCRP, commerce ministry and Bangladesh Bank, he added.
Tanjib-ul-Alam said, “After any incident takes place, we simply say there is no law. However, there are exceptions. People from the sector are saying no new law is necessary. There are weaknesses in the application of the existing laws. And talks on the new law are coming to the fore because it is necessary to identify these weaknesses.”
Rehman Sobhan said there is a severe lack of good governance in the country. That is why customers’ money has been plundered and the e-commerce sector was not the first where such incidents have taken place. Previously, there were many similar occurrences but no action was taken, he added.