E-Commerce Council held its sixth meeting under the chairmanship of H.E. the Minister of Commerce and Investment, Dr. Majid bin Abdullah Al-Qasabi. During the meeting, the E-Commerce Register and the Store Documentation Platform were launched, in accordance with the mechanisms that comply with the recently issued E-Commerce System and its Executive Regulations.
The E-Commerce Register enables e-store owners to download the commercial registration through their e- platforms. The Commercial Registration takes now the code of "QR Code".
The register also allows to view the commercial registration data in a direct and real time, also the store information can be viewed by other government agencies to have an idea about Saudization, Nationalization, Municipality License, Zakat & Income Certificate, Chamber of Commerce Membership and other relevant licenses.
During the meeting, the new E-Store Documentation Platform (Ma'arouf) was launched in its new shape. This e-platform enables the investors and entrepreneurs to issue the commercial registration online directly. This e-platform enables as well the shopper to review the e-store evaluation, as well as to have an idea about the policies related to replacement or return, also to view other beneficiaries opinions.
The new e-platform (Ma'arouf) allows consumers to report and lodge complaints on the e-stores registered in the e-platforms, besides enabling e-store owners to response and process the consumers' reports.
This step comes as part of the E-Commerce Council's initiatives aiming at developing and enhancing the e-commerce business system, which is one of the strategic objectives of the National Transformation Program, leading to the realization of the Kingdom's Vision 2030; that is by creating an attractive and stimulating environment for investors.
During the meeting, the E-Commerce Council reviewed what has been achieved regarding the decisions taken in the previous meetings. The Council also discussed various obstacles facing the e-commerce sector. The attendants discussed the performance indicators which assess the progress of e-commerce in the Kingdom. They discussed also the governance of fees and financial revenue for postal companies. They reviewed as well the progress relevant to the implementation of the council's initiatives and recommendations.
It is worth mentioning that the E-Commerce Council, approved by the Council of Ministers decree, consists of 13 government authorities and 3 representatives of the private sector, aiming at unifying the efforts and focusing on a number of areas, including logistic services and digital payments, in addition to facilitating the e-commerce business, enhancing the reliability of its transactions, preserving the consumers' rights and keeping abreast of the developments in the global e-commerce market.
The E-Commerce Council is implementing 39 diverse initiatives that contribute to the development of the infrastructure of e-commerce and support related regulations and legislation, also enabling e-payment systems, postal and logistic services, as well as stimulating innovation in a number of areas and providing a package of services that enable small and medium enterprises to enter the e-commerce field.