New Delhi

The government is hopeful of coming out with the proposed national e-commerce policy very soon as it is in the final stages of discussion, Commerce & Industry Minister Piyush Goyal has said.

The Department for Promotion of Industry and Internal Trade (DPIIT) has been working on the proposed policy for long and has had a series of stakeholder consultations with the industry and other line-Ministries this year. 

“It is at the final stages of discussion at the highest level in the government. We hope to come out (with the policy) very soon,” Goyal told reporters on Thursday.

RoDTEP

The government is also likely to soon notify extension of benefits under the popular Remission of Duties and Taxes on Export Products (RoDTEP) to e-commerce exporters, an official said on conditions of anonymity. “Right now e-commerce exporters are not getting RoDTEP benefits. We are going to notify that RoDTEP will be available for e-commerce and for that whatever IT enablement is required, the Commerce Ministry will do,” the official said. 

The Commerce & Industry Minister launched an `E-commerce Export Handbook for MSMEs’ on Thursday which is to act as a guide to help small entrepreneurs set up e-commerce ventures. Goyal said that while at present it had been translated into four languages–English, Hindi, Gujarati and Kannada – it would soon be available in all official Indian languages.

Director General for Foreign Trade Santosh Sarangi said that the handbook would be distributed to people at the local level so that they have a ready-made guide available to them on how to start e-commerce, how to onboard a payment, how to realise their payment etc.