New e-commerce law needs detailed rules for all aspects

A courier en route to deliver packages in Beiing, Oct 11, 2014. [Photo/IC]

A law is being drafted on e-commerce, which is expected to include detailed columns on supervision, market entrance and exit, e-payments, consumer rights protection and intellectual property rights protection. The draft is expected to be submitted to the finance and economy committee of the National People's Congress, the top national legislature, in June. Comments:

It is not just a general law that e-commerce needs, it also needs special, detailed regulations covering areas such as overseas purchasing services, online payments, because disputes often occur involving them. And the law being drafted needs to regulate the industry without discouraging innovation, and strike a balance between the interests of consumers and companies, so as to defend justice and promote prosperity. One advice is to trust participants of the industry and allow business operators and consumers to form self-regulating societies.

cntv.cn, May 8

Both the real and online markets need fair competition. As the laws governing the real market have long been implemented and perform well, the latter needs similar laws and regulations. In order to supervise e-commerce while encouraging it, the law enforcement agencies need to adopt a new mentality and consider themselves as service providers instead of bosses. Only when the law enforcers have a healthy mentality can the industry continue prospering.

China Youth Daily, May 8

A key problem an e-commerce law needs to solve is how much tax online retailers should pay. There used to be rumors that tax authorities unilaterally required online shops to compensate their "evaded" tax, which was proved false later; but that sends a warning this sector should be regulated by law, too. With the new law being drafted, the tax law should also be revised so that tax on e-commerce has legal support.

Beijing Business Today, May 13