The Department for Promotion of Industry and Internal Trade (DPIIT) has suggested August 1 as the deadline for e-commerce companies to start displaying the country of origin for new listings of products on their platforms.

The suggested deadline -- a final decision is yet to be taken -- comes amid a wave of anti-China sentiment in the country following the Galwan clash last month, and a broader government push to make the country reliant on homemade products.

A petition saying that buyers have the right to know the country of origin of products they buy is pending decision in the Delhi High Court and the Supreme Court.

The DPIIT had last week written to e-commerce companies asking them to comply with the Legal Metrology (Packaged Commodities) Rules 'at the earliest.'

In 2017, the rules were amended to require all packaged commodities to display details such as the product's country of origin.

E-commerce companies, however, have raised concerns about the timeline, saying that their platforms cater to lakhs of sellers who sell millions of products.

They added that the burden of correct disclosure would fall on small sellers and MSMEs, many of whom may be unclear about the rules.

The companies sought a time of three-four months for displaying the information on their platforms.

First Published:Jul 8, 2020 3:40 PM IST