2. DEFINITION
E-commerce is the buying and selling of goods and
services, or the transmitting of funds or data, over
an electronic network, primarily the Internet.
Participants of e-commerce:
- Buyer
- Seller
- Producer
3. ELEMENTS OF E-COMMERCE
1. Product or service
2. Place from which product has to be sold
3. Marketing
4. System for acceptance of orders
5. System for acceptance of money, e.g. online
billing desk
6. Delivery of product
7. Return procedure
8. Customer grievance redressal
4. TYPES OF E-COMMERCE
B2B – Business to business
B2C – Business to consumer
C2C – Consumer to consumer
C2B – Consumer to business
5. ISSUES RELATING TO E-COMMERCE
Access Issues:
Availability of technology
Consumer awareness
Security issues:
Confidentiality
Secure epayment
Trust issues:
Identity of seller
Uncertainty of prices
Consumer Protection issues:
Timely delivery
Quality and quantity according to description
Effective grievance redressal system
6. ADVANTAGES & DISADVANTAGES
Advantages
Convenience
Ease of access
Simple procedure
Saving time and resources
Disadvantages
Security
Accessibility
Trust
7. LEGAL ASPECTS OF E-COMMERCE
E-commerce has been legally recognized in India
by the Information Technology Act 2000.
The Act provides for the recognition of electronic
records so as to facilitate commercial transactions
via the internet or any other electronic means
It also provides for digital signature which provides
authentication to electronic records and also
identifies the source of any record
8. UNCITRAL MODEL
The Model Law on Electronic Commerce purports
to enable and facilitate commerce conducted using
electronic means by providing national legislators
with a set of internationally acceptable rules aimed
at removing legal obstacles and increasing legal
predictability for electronic commerce. In particular,
it is intended to overcome obstacles arising from
statutory provisions that may not be varied
contractually by providing equal treatment to paper-
based and electronic information. Such equal
treatment is essential for enabling the use of
paperless communication, thus fostering efficiency
in international trade.
9. KEY PROVISIONS
The model law sought to adopt the fundamental
principles of non-discrimination, technological
neutrality and functional equivalence that are widely
regarded as the founding elements of modern
electronic commerce law.
Rules for the formation and validity of contracts
concluded by electronic means, for the attribution of
data messages, for the acknowledgement of receipt
and for determining the time and place of dispatch
and receipt of data messages
10. NON-DISCRIMINATION
The principle of non-discrimination ensures that a
document would not be denied legal effect, validity
or enforceability solely on the grounds that it is in
electronic form.
11. TECHNOLOGICAL NEUTRALITY
The principle of technological neutrality mandates
the adoption of provisions that are neutral with
respect to technology used. In light of the rapid
technological advances, neutral rules aim at
accommodating any future development without
further legislative work.
12. FUNCTIONAL EQUIVALENCE
The functional equivalence principle lays out criteria
under which electronic communications may be
considered equivalent to paper-based
communications. In particular, it sets out the
specific requirements that electronic
communications need to meet in order to fulfil the
same purposes and functions that certain notions in
the traditional paper-based system - for example,
"writing," "original," "signed," and "record"- seek to
achieve
