Declining Trust in E-commerce

Electronic commerce, or e-commerce, is the term used to describe the buying and selling of goods via the Internet or online services. Technologies like supply chain management, online marketing, mobile commerce, electronic fund transfers, online transaction processing, electronic data interchange (EDI), inventory management systems, and automated data collection systems are all used in e-commerce. 

In the recent years, trust in e-commerce has diminished owing to fraudulent activities of some businesses. Ring ID, Evaly, SPC, Dhamaka Shopping, Alesha Mart, E-Orange, Sirajganj Shop, Aladdin's Lamp, Bumboom, Adian Mart, Need.com, and Qcom are just a few of the businesses that have defrauded their clients. Among them, a Gulshan Police Station officer operated E-Orange. He was apprehended in India after fleeing with crores. Despite the fact that the two nations have a prisoner exchange agreement, no steps have been taken to repatriate him from India.

Eight businesses, including Anand Bazar, E-Orange, and Dhamaka, have smuggled 705 crore taka under the guise of e-commerce. The police's Criminal Investigation Department (CID) revealed that they had used hundi to smuggle this money overseas. By offering motorcycles, luxury cars, and electronics at steep discounts, e-commerce businesses have amassed crores from consumers. According to CID, some of them (owners of e-commerce sites) have fled overseas, living a prosperous live, while others kept the money belonging to the customers in the country.

Evaly has smuggled Tk 500 crore, according to information obtained by the police's Criminal Investigation Department (CID). The institution serves 2 lakh 7 thousand 741 clients in total. The precise amount of money that Ring ID has defrauded from its clients is unknown to the police. However, the CID investigation revealed that five of the company's bank accounts had transactions totalling 377 crore 49 lakh taka.

Facebook is currently seeing a resurgence in the buying and selling of goods. These pages no longer deliver the goods for free; instead, they charge upfront delivery fees for this service. On Facebook, a lot of scammers create accounts that are so difficult to identify. However, thousands of customers are ultimately being cheated every day. 

There is no room for such dishonesty in the developed nations. For instance, Singapore is conducting e-commerce using cutting-edge technology where no fraudulent activity is allowed by the state. In addition, the government offers safe experience for e-commerce customers in a number of other nations, such as China, India, the United States, and Canada. However, as Bangladesh lacks specific legal framework, most of the country’s online platforms and e-commerce sites do not function properly.

To address these issues, the draft of the Digital Commerce Act-2023 has been finalised. In order to get their opinion on the draft, the Ministry of Commerce has already written to Bangladesh Bank, the National Board of Revenue (NBR), the Home Ministry's Public Security Department, the Ministry of Local Government, the Ministry of Information and Communication Technology, and the Ministry of Posts and Telecommunications. According to this draft, “doing online business without registration will be punishable by 1-year imprisonment or a fine of 5 lakh taka.” Additionally, providing false information about a product online can result in a fine of Tk 5 lakh or three years in prison. Creating a wallet or cash voucher without authorisation, however, carries a penalty of Tk 2 lakh or 6 months in jail. Furthermore, digital commerce cannot be carried out without registration, according to Section 16 of the draft Digital Commerce Authority Act 2023, and Clause 16(b) stipulates that a website, social media page, or marketplace must be established with the intention of purchasing and selling goods and services.

In addition, Article 17 addresses the penalties for violating a contract or condition. It states that if a customer files a complaint against a digital commercial organisation for failing to deliver goods or services in accordance with the terms of the contract and the complaint is found to be accurate, the company in question will either provide the requested goods or services in accordance with the terms of the contract (for the first time) or return the money that was paid.

Hopefully, if these drafts are approved, no e-commerce company will be able to swindle money out of the customers in future. Customers will suffer less if the government takes such actions. In addition, consumers need to be more aware and make informed decisions while buying things from online platforms or Facebook pages.