Need to strengthen e-commerce platform to reduce transaction costs: Commerce Ministry

NEW DELHI: The Commerce Ministry today sought specific suggestions from the industry to strengthen e-commerce platform for enhancing trade and reducing transaction cost.

"Let us come out with very specific agenda as what needs to be done by various ministries...we have a huge potential but we have lot of gaps on legal side, infrastructure side and on the taxation side. We need to address these," Joint Secretary in the Commerce Ministry Sudhanshu Pandey said.

He was speaking at a CII function on transaction cost and e-commerce here.

He said that movement of goods from one state to other in the country face several problems which lead to increase in transaction cost.

According to industry experts, the quantum of transaction cost is 7-10 per cent of the total value of Indian exports. This amounts to a significant 415 billion. The Ministry has announced several steps to reduce the cost which include 24x7 customs clearance facility on airports.

The official also said that increasing protectionist measures in some economies under the garb of 'technical barriers to trade' too is pushing transaction cost of traders.

These barriers are mainly related with procedures and processes.

As per estimates, the market size of e-commerce stands at $3-5 billion and are expected to increase to $80-100 billion by 2020.

E-commerce helps in marketing products by MSME sector which do not have the financial muscle to go in for big advertising blitz.