Draft e-commerce policy: DPIIT to extend deadline for seeking stakeholders' comments till March 31

New Delhi: The Department for Promotion of Industry and Internal Trade is expected to extend till March 31 the deadline for seeking comments from stakeholders on the draft national e-commerce policy, a senior government official said.

"We will give a month's time for comments. We will extend the deadline till March 31," the official said.

Some stakeholders from the online trading sector have already sought time beyond the original March 9 deadline to provide their comments.

The government has released the draft proposing setting up a legal and technological framework for restrictions on cross-border data flow and also laid out conditions for businesses regarding collection or processing of sensitive data locally and storing it abroad.

The draft was formulated by the Department for Promotion of Industry and Internal Trade (DPIIT), an arm of the Commerce and Industry Ministry.

It seeks to provide for consideration and discussion a policy framework that will enable the country to benefit from rapid digitisation of the domestic as well as global economy.

The 41-page draft addresses six broad issues of the e-commerce ecosystem -- data, infrastructure development, e-commerce marketplaces, regulatory issues, stimulating domestic digital economy and export promotion through e-commerce.

Further, the department will start a round of stakeholder consultations on the draft policy from Friday.