Small and Medium Enterprises (SMEs) of the country have made representation to the Government of India for a favorable policy for liberalization of Ecommerce sector.

Speaking about the representation, Aamir Jariwala- Secretary, the aegis of Ecommerce Coalition for SMEs said, "Our intention is to point out the impetus Ecommerce is providing the national economy and merely red-flag the concerns of the industry. Ecommerce has the potential to power our economy through growth of enterprise, infrastructure and employment and it must be helped, enabled and liberalized to achieve its potential".

Recently in a letter to Minister, Nirmala Sitharaman with copies to the Finance & MSME Ministry and the DIPP, the aegis of The Ecommerce Coalition has outlining possible improvements in policy and rules that could help the sector grow exponentially.

Expressing concern at news indicating the government's intention to create guidelines defining the marketplace model for Ecommerce players, the Ecommerce Coalition offered four submissions that could enhance the prospects of the industry, namely:

The creation of any definition of Ecommerce should take into consideration that this is a technology platform, which acts as a bridge between sellers and their consumers. The platform does not conduct trading itself. However the platform can also offer value added service like logistics, fulfillment, etc.

The platform should not face restrictions on the number of sellers that can conduct activity on it. This would be against the spirit of Ecommerce and the ease of doing business.

Quick implementation of GST across the country. In the interim before the formal implementation of GST, request for the government to issue a notification for status quo that reduces the harassment faced by Ecommerce players on VAT and other taxes.

The Ecommerce sector in its entirety should be allowed to access foreign capital. We also humbly request that prior to making any changes in the current guidelines for Ecommerce, all stakeholders should be taken into consideration and a meeting called for further deliberation on the issue.

Small and medium businesses under the aegis of The Ecommerce Coalition, a national body representing companies engaged in ecommerce.

Signaling the top line growth estimates of the sector to be in the range of USD 6 Billion in 2015, an approximate doubling of size since 2014, the representation from the small and medium businesses outlined the impact Ecommerce has had on employment generation, logistics, infrastructure, electronic payments, growth of new enterprises and scaling up of existing enterprise and convenience for customers.

The letter made a pointed reference to a recent survey by Pehle India of 500 MSMEs and 1500 traders that demonstrated the positive impact of Ecommerce on manufacturers and retailers a majority of who have benefited directly or indirectly through its use. Debunking the commonly held belief about antagonism from retailers, the survey has suggested that Ecommerce has had a positive impact by way of increasing retail footfalls and reducing costs of procurement, leading to an increase in profit.

Clarifying that it does not intend to pre-empt the Government and impose on any of its prerogatives, the representation submitted that policies that could impede the growth of the sector should be eschewed arguing that definition and restriction on the current marketplace model will create a negative sentiment within the industry.

The representation pointed out that Ecommerce is already restricted with B2C Ecommerce still out of bounds for foreign capital and before the Government considers any further restrictions it should first review the possibility of liberalizing the industry.