Special Correspondent :
The government has formed a 16-member ‘technical committee’ to create a congenial environment for the scandal-hit digital commerce sector.
A.H.M Shafiquzzaman, Additional Secretary (IIT), Ministry of Commerce, has been made the convener, while Mohammad Saeed Ali, Deputy Secretary, of the Central Digital Commerce Cell has been made member secretary of the committee.
Besides, one representative each from ICT Division, Finance Division, Financial Institutions Division, Home Ministry, Ministry of Local Government and Cooperatives, Bangladesh Bank, Bangladesh Police, Cyber Crime Intelligence Branch, RAB, Competition Commission, Directorate of National Consumer Rights Protection, (DNCRP), President and General Secretary of E-Commerce Association of Bangladesh, BASIS and a2i has included in the panel as members.
Formation of the panel was announced by an office order issued by the Central Digital Commerce Cell, Ministry of Commerce, on Monday evening.
The move comes on the heels of recent fraudulent activities by some errant e-commerce platforms such as Evaly, Eorange, Dhamaka Shopping, Sirajganj Shop, among others.
The order cited that the Ministry of Commerce has already issued the Digital Commerce Operation Guidelines, 2021 pursuant to the National Digital Commerce Policy, 2018 (as amended in 2020) with the aim of ensuring transparency and accountability in the digital commerce sector and as well as upholding the rights of the consumers.
“In light with the guideline, a committee has been formed to solve the problems related to digital commerce such trade and business, transactions and aggravation of consumers and sellers and other technical glitch,” the office order added.
“The new panel would look into the recent e-commerce scams and work to find effective ways to curb fraudulence with consumers in the burgeoning digital
business in the country. It will also recommend measures to regulate e-commerce firms and bring discipline to the whole sector,” a senior Commerce Ministry official told The New Nation.
He said recommendations from a wider range of people are needed to gear up the digital commerce sector as well as formulate a draft law to safeguard the interests of consumers, merchants and e-commerce businesses.
