Globally, E-Commerce has been playing an important role in the success of both large organizations and Small and Medium Enterprises (SMEs) as it helps reduce transaction costs, explore niche markets and avoid intermediaries. It is estimated that in 2017, the value of worldwide E-Commerce transactions was approximately $ 29 trillion of which $ 23.9 trillion was Business to Business (B2B) E-Commerce, while Business to Commerce (B2C) E-Commerce stood at $ 3.9 trillion. However, cross border B2C are estimated at $ 412 million.
Pakistan's E-Commerce industry is performing fairly well over the last few years. According to the State Bank of Pakistan, E-Commerce sales stood at Rs 18.9 billion by the end of June, 2018 while the total size of Pakistan's E-Commerce market in 2018 was Rs 99.3 billion. Capitalizing on the efforts made by the public and private sector there is a need to take measures to increase competitiveness of the local enterprises in order to enhance their share in global trade, without compromising consumer trust.
For this purpose, it is crucial to develop a policy framework of addressing key areas of concern; i.e., consumer protection, inability for the financial sector in optimizing its growth and to tap its potential to generate revenue in the medium to long run.
Realizing this very important need, the Prime Minister assigned the task to the Commerce Division to frame a comprehensive national E-Commerce Policy Framework in consultation with all the stakeholders including the private sector.
Accordingly, the following bodies were constituted to deliberate on the prospective Policy Framework: (i) National E-Commerce Advisory Council; (ii) National E-Commerce Policy Board; (iii) National E-Commerce Policy Unit; and (iv) five working groups on taxation, payments infrastructure, regulatory framework - Commerce Logistics and E-Commerce & WTO.
Ministry of Commerce conducted extensive consultations with all the stakeholders, including the Federal Board of Revenue (FBR), State Bank of Pakistan (SBP), Securities and Exchange Commission of Pakistan (SECP), Ministry of IT &Telecom, Provincial Revenue Authorities and private sector.
To address various issues, the working groups made recommendations, which have been incorporated in the proposed E-Commerce Policy Framework. According to sources, consensus could not be developed among the stakeholders on tax exemption issues. Commerce Division has proposed that differences on tax issues should be resolved by the provincial revenue authorities in consultation with the private stakeholders.
The proposed policy framework covers areas such as consumer protection, taxation issues, payment gateway, privacy and personal data protection, data sovereignty and localization and training of the SMEs for establishing their online presence. The policy framework will pave the way for developing E-Commerce in Pakistan by creating an enabling environment for growth of existing E-Commerce enterprises, encouraging new entrants, facilitating local and cross border trade (especially exports), enhancing competitiveness and contributing to the overall digital economy.
The policy framework will also lure enterprises to venture into E-Commerce, enhance their productivity and generate new employment opportunities.
Other agendas to be considered by the Cabinet are as follows: (i) implementation status of the Cabinet decisions; (ii) discussion on proposals for new public interest initiatives; (iii) ratification of the decisions taken by the ECC and CCoP on September 18, 2019; (iv) implementation of the decision of ECC on Pakistan Halal Authority; (v) placement of Pakistan Council of Research in Water Resources (PCRWR) under the administrative control of the Ministry of Water Resources; (vi) amendment in the Rules of Business, 1973 to bring NACTA under the administrative control of Interior Division; (vii) extension in duration of Saudi Pak Industrial and Agricultural Investment Company Limited; (viii) Chinese as an official language of the United Nations World Tourism Organisation (UNWTO); (ix) report/presentation on the performance of the selected lobbyist and public relations firm in the United States of America (USA); (x) The Real Estate ( Regulation and Development ) Ordinance, 2019; (xi) audit of Nadra accounts for the financial year ended June 30, 2019; (xii) nomination for the two eminent industrialists for the Board of Governors (BoGs) of Pakistan Council for Science and Technology (PCST); (xiii) presentation on the databank of properties of ETPB; (xiv) presentation on action plan on curbing the manufacturing and smuggling of the licit tobacco products; and (xv) presentation on the high rise buildings project planned by the Karachi Port Trust (KPT).
