A petition has been filed in the Supreme Court for a direction to the government to introduce law necessitating e-commerce sites and websites to display the country of origin of products advertised and sold on their platforms for customers to make an “informed decision”.
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The plea filed by lawyer Divya Jyoti Singh said a large influx of junk was made and imported from China.
“Indian consumers are still kept in dark by not disclosing the country of origin... E-commerce portals surreptitiously do not disclose the country of origin for the products on their web-portals”, it said.
There was a “wave” against Chinese products across the country due to the tensions in the Galwan Valley. “By non- disclosure of the ‘Country of Origin’ on the web-portals, these giant business houses/ e- commerce portals are not only playing with the patriotic feelings of the Indians but also are proving fatal in the efforts of each and every citizen of India in boycotting the Chinese products and also are blocking the way in promoting the local manufacturers/ brands as called for by our Prime Minister so that the country becomes self -reliant as is the need of the hour”, the petition said.
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It said the rules of origin in trade law was crucial. “One can always locate the ‘made in country’ labels while purchasing from the physical stores”, it stated.
With the pandemic on and more shopping done online, it was necessary for platforms to be transparent about the country of origin of the products they hosted. it said.
