Brands and merchants TOI spoke to said they have received email communications and notifications on seller apps to share relevant details on the origin of products. Platforms like Bigbasket have started the process of collecting this data, while its in-house labels like Fresho, in some categories, sport the ‘made in India’ tag already.
Bengaluru: E-commerce platforms like Amazon India and Bigbasket have started asking sellers and brands to put ‘country of origin’ for the products on their platforms. This comes a day after government officials held a meeting with e-commerce players over the issue that has gained prominence due to the border conflict with China in Ladakh.
Brands and merchants TOI spoke to said they have received email communications and notifications on seller apps to share relevant details on the origin of products. Platforms like Bigbasket have started the process of collecting this data, while its in-house labels like Fresho, in some categories, sport the ‘made in India’ tag already.
Amazon India, which has 6 lakh sellers in India, has started notifying merchants and brands to share these details. “Some of my products already had the details, but now we are being asked formally to add this information, which would be available for users,” one of the brands selling on Amazon India said. For this label, some of the products had started reflecting their ‘country of origin’ on Amazon India.
“As of now, this information will be displayed in the ‘other product info’ section. However, based on the decision taken by the (commerce) ministry, we have to display this information as a tag or on the image. This will be decided after announcement of the final legal metrology,” Bigbasket told one of the food brands on its platform.
The Bengaluru-based firm added that, if a product is manufactured in multiple countries, then all of them need to be mentioned. “If, for example, Pampers is manufactured in India, Canada and China, we will need all the three country names as we may not at any point be sure the batch supplied to us was manufactured in which country,” the note added. Another merchant, who sells electronic accessories, said, “It’s not a long-term solution. I have over a lakh listings, so it would be a tedious task and most of my products are from China. As an Indian, this will impact sales for products that I have already paid for,” he said.
An Amazon India spokesperson declined to comment on the matter, while an email sent to Bigbasket did not elicit any response till the time of going to the press.
Brands and merchants TOI spoke to said they have received email communications and notifications on seller apps to share relevant details on the origin of products. Platforms like Bigbasket have started the process of collecting this data, while its in-house labels like Fresho, in some categories, sport the ‘made in India’ tag already.
Amazon India, which has 6 lakh sellers in India, has started notifying merchants and brands to share these details. “Some of my products already had the details, but now we are being asked formally to add this information, which would be available for users,” one of the brands selling on Amazon India said. For this label, some of the products had started reflecting their ‘country of origin’ on Amazon India.
“As of now, this information will be displayed in the ‘other product info’ section. However, based on the decision taken by the (commerce) ministry, we have to display this information as a tag or on the image. This will be decided after announcement of the final legal metrology,” Bigbasket told one of the food brands on its platform.
The Bengaluru-based firm added that, if a product is manufactured in multiple countries, then all of them need to be mentioned. “If, for example, Pampers is manufactured in India, Canada and China, we will need all the three country names as we may not at any point be sure the batch supplied to us was manufactured in which country,” the note added. Another merchant, who sells electronic accessories, said, “It’s not a long-term solution. I have over a lakh listings, so it would be a tedious task and most of my products are from China. As an Indian, this will impact sales for products that I have already paid for,” he said.
An Amazon India spokesperson declined to comment on the matter, while an email sent to Bigbasket did not elicit any response till the time of going to the press.
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