MUMBAI: The government of India, in its new set of orders, has listed out new rules for e-commerce services like Amazon, Flipkart, Grofers, and BigBasket to make consumer-experience more satisfactory and secure.

As per the new directives released by Commerce and Industry Ministry, shopping sites are now barred them from selling products of companies in which they have a stake while FSSAI has stepping up scrutiny of food companies, stating that there can be no compromise on last-mile delivery and safety of food products.

“An entity having equity participation by e-commerce marketplace entity or its group companies, or having control on its inventory by e-commerce marketplace entity or its group companies, will not be permitted to sell its products on the platform run by such marketplace entity,” the Ministry mandated in a statement. It has also prohibited e-commerce companies from entering into an agreement for exclusive sale of products.  

As per the directives, the e-commerce sites cannot exercise ownership or control over the inventory and can enter into transactions with sellers only on B2B basis.

On the other hand, FSSAI has announced that food products supplied by online portals are now liable to be sampled at any point in the supply chain. Companies will also need to provide an indicative image of the food on their platforms so that consumers can recognise the product. All mandatory information mentioned in the Food Safety and Standards (FSS) Act will also have to be provided to consumers before purchase and only fresh food should be delivered to consumers. Food should have a remaining shelf life of 30 per cent or 45 days before expiry at the time of delivery, the guidelines said.