E-commerce: Govt to put in place regulatory framework

Body to formulate the framework before WTO summit in December.

ISLAMABAD: The government has constituted a ministerial committee in an effort to put in place a regulatory framework for promoting e-commerce in the country.

The body was formed during a meeting here on Thursday between officials of the Ministry of Commerce and the Ministry of Information Technology, which was co-chaired by Commerce Minister Khurram Dastgir and IT State Minister Anusha Rehman.

They discussed different modalities of e-commerce and agreed to hold a follow-up meeting next week.

The committee, comprising officials of the Ministry of Commerce, Ministry of IT and State Bank of Pakistan, was tasked with formulating the regulatory framework before the World Trade Organisation (WTO) ministerial meeting in Nairobi, Kenya in mid-December.

In the WTO gathering, e-commerce will be one of the topics of discussion and Pakistan needs to prepare to inform the international community about the steps taken to promote the sector.

The regulations will deal with dispute resolution, payment mechanism, gateway for e-commerce, provisions for setting up e-stores and provisions pertaining to the supply chain of e-services.

“We want to have a broader e-commerce framework before this (WTO) summit,” Dastgir was quoted as saying by an official who was part of the meeting.

The regulatory framework will greatly help software developers, service providers and the receipt of payments. At present, service providers get payments through different complex mechanisms that hamper the smooth progress of the e-commerce sector.

Published in The Express Tribune, November 27^th,  2015.

Like Business on Facebook, follow @TribuneBiz on Twitter to stay informed and join in the conversation.