Chennai: The Digital Competition Bill (DCB) will deprive micro, small and medium enterprises of the potential benefits of e-commerce sectors, said a trade body.
The adverse effects of the proposed Digital Competition Bill (DCB) on MSMEs' ability to access and compete in emerging markets, India SME Forum (ISF) said in its letter to the government.
The draft provisions disincentives the MSMEs to grow their businesses as they would attract deeper scrutiny by the lawmakers. As the provisions are focused on digital services, it limits the ability of SMEs to extract value from digital platforms and deter from adopting digital trade. This approach could hamper investments and growth in the Indian e-commerce sector, depriving MSMEs of the potential benefits of e-commerce expansion. Additionally, MSMEs are not being consulted and their representatives are absent in these discussions.
The provision in the bill which limits the ability of platforms to use data, for targeted advertising and this detrimental to MSMEs that are reliant on targeted advertising offered by large digital platforms, for things like revenue generation, customer acquisition, and cost saving.
