The sub-committee of the Technology and Innovation Committee of the State Council on Monday discussed the study on ‘Legislative and regulatory controls on e-commerce’ in the presence of Ridha bin Juma al Saleh, Chairman of the Oman Chamber of Commerce and Industry (OCCI) and other chamber officials at the Council headquarters.
The committee reviewed themes like, ‘reality of e-commerce at the global and regional levels’; ‘extent of its contribution as an important economic tributary that is capable of growth and expansion’; ‘repercussions of the Covid-19 crisis on changing patterns of business practices, especially in the e-commerce sector’; and ‘extent of e-commerce’s contribution to the national economy’.
The committee discussed the role and efforts of the OCCI in stimulating the sector, both at the levels of large, medium and small companies that operate in the Sultanate of Oman. It also looked into the contribution of both Electronic Transactions Law and the National Payment Systems Law in activating and developing the e-commerce sector, as how these two laws keep pace with the current and future developments and growth of the sector.
The committee discussed e-commerce applications, their requirements, and their ability to achieve information security.
Whether foreign, local or entrepreneurial, the challenges of e-commerce on the national economy and major investment companies came for discussion.
The participants discussed the roles of specialised platforms and applications and those based on social media.
It also discussed the Chamber’s plans to develop and invest in the sector and the extent of its integration with the relevant authorities and its vision to enable the e-commerce sector from the perspectives of legislative and regulatory controls.
The study aims to propose a draft law to regulate electronic commerce in the Sultanate that includes all aspects of this type of commerce.