The government today launched the Digital Business Identification (DBID) system for the e-commerce businesses in the country as all kinds of online business entities like websites, Facebook pages and apps from now on would have to take registration in such system.
Commerce Minister Tipu Munshi formally inaugurated the DBID system at his Ministry at Bangladesh Secretariat Sunday after chairing an emergency inter-ministerial meeting to review the overall condition of the digital e-commerce business.
Prime Minister’s Private Industry and Investment Adviser Salman F Rahman, State Minister for ICT Junaid Ahmed Palak and concerned businessmen attended the meeting. A total of 11 e-commerce firms were given registration at the programme.
Speaking on the occasion, Tipu said although some e-commerce firms were involved in cheating, but there are still thousands of e-commerce firms which are doing good businesses. “DBID system has been introduced so that such good e-commerce firms are recognized and they can do much better,”
Mentioning that all the e-commerce firms in the country would be brought under the same platform through this DBID system, he said adding that the e-commerce business would be operated in the country in future through this nice system.
Tipu said providing DBID to an e-commerce firm means giving them proper documents while necessary arrangements would be made so that these firms could get TINs and bank loans.
He said with the introduction of DBID, irregularities and forgery would be reduced to a great extent in the e-commerce business, but the concerned consumers would have to be more aware in this regard.
The commerce minister said that the amount of the clients stuck with the e-commerce firms, which are involved in cheating, would be repaid to the consumers in consultation with the law minister after addressing some legal issues.
Prime Minister’s Adviser Salman F Rahman informed that this DBID platform would facilitate the small and women entrepreneurs. He said that an inter-ministerial meeting would be held so that such entrepreneurs do not face any difficulty in getting TINs, trade licenses, opening up bank accounts and getting bank loans.
State Minister for ICT Junaid Ahmed Palak said that although misunderstanding was created to some extent in the e-commerce business, but it would be resolved to a large extent with the launching of the DBID.
He also hoped that this DBID system would give the online business a strong and reliable foundation.
Palak informed that four important steps are ongoing on behalf of the government to address the anomalies in the digital business while DBID is the effective first step of that.
He said a central complaint management system server would be launched later to address the complaints of this sector. Besides, central liquidity tracking Programme (CLTP) would be launched to ascertain the actual number of transactions and the volume of traded products in the e-commerce sector.
The state minister also said that an inter operator digital platform would be developed which will track a product going to which destination. He hoped that these four effective steps would take the e-commerce sector into a reliable position.
Commerce Ministry Senior Secretary Tapan Kanti Ghosh, Additional Secretary and central digital commerce cell chief AHM Shafiquzzaman, e-CAB president Shomi Kaiser, were present, among others, on the occasion.
