The Commerce Ministry is in talks with the Reserve Bank of India and the Departments of Revenue and Posts to revisit trade-related regulations and facilitate more exports through the e-commerce route, a top official said on Thursday.
While globally, cross-border trade through e-commerce is expected to exceed $2 trillion by 2030, such exports from India currently stand at $8 billion to $10 billion. China, however, has leveraged e- commerce to export more than $300 billion of goods, Director General of Foreign Trade Santosh Kumar Sarangi said.
Noting that 62 of India’s 800 districts account for 80% of goods exports, Mr. Sarangi said boosting e-commerce shipments from craftsmen and smaller businesses across districts could bolster India’s overall exports.
“Most of our trade laws and regulations were designed for B2B (business to business) shipment of goods… it requires a tremendous mindset change for regulators to understand the changing landscape where a supplier based in India can connect directly with the consumer outside,” he said at an Asia-Pacific e-commerce Policy Summit hosted by ICRIER.
As e-commerce sales entail a lot of return of goods, which attracts a lot of scrutiny in B2B trade, the ministry is looking at easing the process for them. It is also in talks with the RBI to ease foreign exchange norms to permit longer times for payment realisation for e-commerce sales. The Departments of Post and Revenue have also been approached to help ship goods abroad from the hinterland and ease Customs norms, respectively, the official said.
“There are projections that e-commerce exports at a global level will exceed $2 trillion by 2030. So India has to be a major player and it is in this context that we will have to ready the ecosystem to leverage India’s potential in the e-commerce space,” Mr. Sarangi summed up.
