Majhar Mannan :
At a time when e-commerce business is undergoing a ground breaking change in the corona situation around the world, there are many complications with this e-commerce business in our country and there is a crisis of faith among the general consumers. China and the Western world have already revolutionized e-commerce, and online shopping has multiplied the global consumer appeal, and the Western world has already been able to strengthen a variety of e-commerce fields. Large e-commerce companies such as Amazon and Walmart have delivered products during Corona epidemic to the homes of customers with honesty and integrity. But in Bangladesh, some e-commerce companies have created various types of fraud traps to deceive consumers. E-commerce companies became very popular in Bangladesh, but suddenly some e-commerce companies were accused of fraud and other charges, including Evaly and e -orange. In the last three months, 22,000 complaints have been lodged against e-commerce companies in Bangladesh.
The whole e-commerce sector is facing a lot of discussion and criticism as the information has come out that there are far fewer assets than the amount of money that Evaly has taken from the customers. These e-commerce companies were supposed to do business honestly and they were supposed to do business according to the rules of Bangladesh but they did not do that rather they created a trap of fraud and put themselves in extreme danger and put real e-commerce companies in danger. According to Bangladesh Bank, Bangladesh Financial Intelligence Unit (BFIU) has summoned the bank accounts of eleven e-commerce companies. There are various allegations against some e-commerce companies including money laundering and customer fraud. Qcoom was accused of embezzling money in the name of selling products with unusual discounts. Some e-commerce companies in Bangladesh took the initiative to make huge money overnight and accordingly they made trap and many customers have fallen into this trap and become destitute but in the end it is possible to bring all the organizations under the law.
In order to restore the confidence and popularity of e-commerce companies in Bangladesh, it is necessary to take a strong stand against fraudulent companies and overcome the weaknesses of the existing laws. The Ministry of Commerce has issued a strict guideline to the e commerce companies on 4th July, but it is not enough to just issue a guideline, it has to be strictly monitored to implement it in practice and also to ensure that no transaction can take place without the permission of Bangladesh Bank. The state should take all necessary steps to ensure that consumers are not deceived in any way and if any kind of complaint is raised, it should be resolved immediately and there should be no delay.
No separate law has been enacted for e-commerce in Bangladesh. All the laws that exist for business and commerce were applicable to e-commerce but due to their strict application and practice, some e commerce companies made traps and cheated consumers. The e-commerce regulatory body must play a responsible role and implement the guidelines that are being issued by the Bangladesh Bank and the regulatory body must increase its capacity.
The e-commerce regulatory body must overcome its weaknesses and the laws that deal with transactions must be more closely monitored. All the mistakes that have been made must be investigated. If the responsible agencies of e-commerce took timely action and if there was proper coordination, such incidents would not happen again, so it is very important to find out where there was laxity and where there was incoherence. There must be coordination among the regulators of e-commerce and at the same time consumers must be made aware and if this can be done then e-commerce companies will regain their popularity in the land of Bangladesh.
(Majhar Mannan is Assistant Professor, B A F Shaheen College Kurmitola, Dhaka Cantonment).
