Article
The draft E-Commerce Rules - Moving towards protectionism
By Nayanika Majumdar
The article in this issue of Corporate Amicus explains the key features of the draft Consumer Protection (e-commerce) Rules 2019 proposed by Ministry of Consumer Affairs. The draft Rules, issued in the wake of the movement against deep discounts offered by e-commerce giants, propose to create liabilities on the e-commerce companies with respect to quality control of products offered, removal of counterfeits, and mandatory returns on non-match of products with their advertisements. Additionally, these companies must ensure safe payment and data protection and are not to adopt unfair methods or deceptive practices which may influence transactional decisions of the consumers. The draft Rules also list liabilities of sellers. Considering various provisions of the Consumer Protection Act and the draft Rules, the author points out that absence of specific penalties in the form of fine or imprisonment, or clarity on the penalties leviable in case of non-compliance with the Rules, may lead us back to the situation that occurred after the release of PN 3 of 2016 or PN 2 of 2018...
Notifications and Circulars
- Insolvency proceedings against personal guarantors - Insolvency and Bankruptcy (Application to Adjudicating Authority for Insolvency Resolution Process for Personal Guarantors to Corporate Debtors) Rules, 2019 notified
- SEBI notifies guidelines for preferential issue of units and institutional placement of units by listed Infrastructure Investment Trusts (InvIT) and Real Estate Investment Trusts (REIT)
- RBI notifies Foreign Exchange Management (Deposit) (Third Amendment) Regulations, 2019
- MCA publishes Company Law Committee Report, 2019 focusing on corporate criminal liability and re-categorisation of minor, technical or procedural compoundable offences in the Companies Act, 2013
- Companies (Meetings of Board and its Powers) Second Amendment Rules, 2019 notified
Ratio decidendi
- Dissenting financial creditors can be discriminated during settlement of claims under Insolvency Resolution Process prior to amendment in Regulation 38 - NCLAT
- Insolvency - Supreme Court upholds constitutional validity of Insolvency and Bankruptcy (Amendment) Act, 2019 and reinforces primacy of Committee of Creditors – Supreme Court
News Nuggets
- Ministry of Corporate Affairs to be party in all IBC Proceedings and Company Petitions
- PAS-6 - Last date for filing extended
- AOC-4 and MGT-7 for companies in Union Territories of Jammu & Kashmir and Ladakh – Last date extended
- Arbitration - Section 87 of the Arbitration and Conciliation Act, 1996 held unconstitutional
- Limitation is a jurisdictional issue, cannot be examined by High Court at pre-reference stage of arbitration
- SEBI notifies permissible jurisdictions and exchanges for issuance of depository receipts by listed companies
- Insolvency Professionals to act as Interim Resolution Professionals, Liquidators, Resolution Professionals and Bankruptcy Trustees (Recommendation) Guidelines, 2019
- TRAI issues recommendations on platform services offered by DTH operators
- European Union Data Protection Board (EUDPB) adopts Guidelines of Territorial Scope and Guidelines on Data Protection by Design & Default
- California Consumer Privacy Act (‘CCPA’) to be effective from 01st January 2020
