Shawdesh Desk:

Commerce Minister Tipu Munshi said on Wednesday that  the government would set up an e-commerce regulatory body to monitor the  sector in a better way.

Tipu also mentioned that there will be a detailed e-commerce law to be enacted soon alongside establishing a central complaint cell.

“Legal actions as per the current law will be taken against those companies who have cheated customers,” he said.

Tipu made the remarks after presiding over a meeting at the commerce  ministry to review the recent problems in the country’s e-commerce business and policy-related decisions regarding the sector.

The minister said that the Digital Security Act and Money Laundering Act  will be amended to ensure legal action against fraudulent companies.

Tipu noted that there were some legal complexities about refunding customers of Jubok and Destiny group by using those companies’ assets.

“The law minister has been suggested to solve the issue,” he said adding  that the government cannot shut down the entire e-commerce sector for the  fraudulence of 10-12 companies.

According to the minister, transactions worth Taka 6,000 crore took place  in the e-commerce sector before the introduction of the escrow service on  June 4.

Following its introduction, products worth Taka 400 crore have been ordered  through the service and Taka 200 crore has been transacted.

The minister said that companies like Evaly and Alesha Mart wasted a lot of their assets on advertisements and sponsorships.

“We will try to ensure that these companies cannot cheat customers anymore. Every company must obtain a unique Business Identification Number  from the commerce ministry,” Tipu said.

Answering to another question, the Commerce Minister said they have arranged the meeting out of their obligations. “We don’t want to escape those  obligations.”

Home Minister Asaduzzaman Khan Kamal, Law Minister Anisul Huq, Information and Broadcasting Minister Dr Hasan Mahmud, Commerce Secretary Tapan Kanti Ghosh, Bangladesh Competition Commission Chairman Md Mofizul Islam, Digital E-Commerce Cell Head and WTO Director General (Additional Secretary) Hafizur Rahman, IGP Dr Benazir Ahmed, Director General of RAB Chowdhury Abdullah Al-Mamun and other senior officials were present at the meeting.

Earlier, Commerce Minister Tipu Munshi requested people to control their buying spree of products at low prices from e-commerce platforms to prevent fraudulent incidents.