India has for the first time submitted a formal document opposing any negotiations on e-commerce at the World Trade Organisation (WTO). India has clearly stated its consistent stand that it is not in favour of doing anything beyond the work programme. India has maintained that e-commerce per se may be good for development but it may not be prudent to begin talks since many countries don’t fully understand the implications of negotiating binding rules. Since last year, many countries have made submissions on various aspects of digital trade such as cross-border data flows, server localization, technology transfer, source code, consumer protection, intellectual property rights and trade facilitation aspects of e-commerce. Intense efforts are now being made by some countries to secure a mandate to initiate comprehensive negotiations on e-commerce. This could result in considerable leakage of revenue as more products and services get delivered through electronic transmissions.

(Economic Times)