Action against Evaly

After keeping the suspect company under observation for a while, and scrutinizing their financial statements thoroughly, the inter-ministerial committee on e-commerce has asked the home ministry to take legal action against Evaly. Earlier the commerce ministry had asked the Anti-Corruption Commission and the home ministry to investigate the irregularities found in Evaly’s financial statements. Allegation of money laundering against the said company was to be investigated as well as per direction of the ministry of commerce.

The discrepancies noticed in the financial statements regarding current assets and liabilities, as submitted by the said company to the commerce ministry and Bangladesh Bank, has been taken into cognizance by the powerful inter-ministerial committee. As per procedures in such cases the commerce ministry has requested the home ministry to take appropriate action as per the laws of the land. It has also been reported that similar fate awaits ten other e-commerce companies, as complaints against them have also been reported by the investigating authorities.

The rogue e-commerce platform Evaly has been in discussion in the business circle of the country for quite a while, which hit the headlines in newspapers and news portals on a regular basis. When aggrieved customers who had advanced money against the promises of delivery of goods at a cheaper price sensed foul play in the deal, they began to raise their voice demanding legal action against them. The allegation of siphoning off of money has also surfaced against them and as a result the ACC and the home ministry agreed to investigate the matter with due seriousness.

Earlier, against the backdrop of complaints of hundreds of customers, the Bangladesh Bank requested the ministry of commerce to conduct a separate audit to verify the financial accounts of the company in question. In response, a nine (9) member inter-ministerial committee was formed on August 8 to review the answers given by Evaly and decide on the course of action to be taken against them. The members of the committee include representatives from Bangladesh Competition Commission, Ministry of Home Affairs, Department of Information Technology, Bangladesh Bank, National Board of Revenue and National Consumer Rights Protection Department.

It was decided in the meeting that if allegations against Evaly were found to be true, legal action would be taken against the company in line with the existing laws.

It needs to be mentioned that in the recent months maximum number of complaints were filed against the e-commerce platform Evaly. According to the Directorate of National Consumers’ Right Protection (DNCRP), as many as 4,932 complaints were lodged against the firm, which was estimated to be 37 per cent of the total number of complaints received against all the e-commerce companies in the country. Evaly opened shop only a couple of years back offering unusual amounts of discounts on various consumer products. This created the desired buzz in the country and thousands of customers rushed to pay the required advance in cash. Media reported that young customers were attracted by the price offered for motorcycles of famous brands. But when the e-commerce company failed to deliver the products and people began to demand return of their money, the company applied the tactics of dilly-dallying and started to buy time. As their mask of deceit fell off, aggrieved people began to seek legal help against the company in question.

Reportedly, the Ministry of Commerce and the Ministry of Home Affairs are jointly conducting investigations against a few other e-commerce companies who are also marked red by the authorities.

The most common complaints against the e-commerce firms are, not getting the right product in right time; oftentimes delivered products are found to be of inferior quality; no or late response against complaints or refund of money.

The ministry of commerce must take actions to refund money of clients against the orders and fix the business modalities of e-firms including Evaly. Asking home ministry for action is nothing but shifting responsibility to other government machinery. Trade and commerce is the cup of tea of commerce ministry. We want fair trade by e-commerce platforms and appropriate actions from commerce ministry so that no unfair dealings take place and customers are cheated by rogue companies.