Govt prohibits e-tailers from delivering non-essentials goods amid lockdown

New Delhi, Apr 20 (KNN) The Ministry of Home Affairs (MHA) has clarified that supply of non-essential goods by e-commerce companies will remain prohibited during the lockdown.

On April 19, the MHA wrote to the states to exclude the e-commerce category from the revised guidelines.

This comes at a time when e-commerce firms were gearing up to deliver products like mobile phones and refrigerators to customers in areas that do not fall under COVID-19 hotspots from April 20, as per guidelines issued by the MHA last week.

As per the April 15 order, “e-commerce companies” and vehicles used by their operators had been allowed but it was not specified if it was applicable to items others than essentials.

Confederation of All India Traders (CAIT) lauded the Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Home Minister Amit Shah for the most pragmatic decision of prohibiting e-commerce companies to deliver non-essentials amid lockdown period.