BENGALURU: All e-commerce platforms, including Amazon, BigBasket and D-Mart, will now come under the control of APMC. The Assembly on Monday approved The Karnataka Agricultural Produce Marketing (Regulation and Development) (Amendment) Bill, 2025 to prevent cess fraud.
It will now be mandatory for any e-commerce platform to pay cess to APMCs, and the agricultural marketing director has the powers to act against them in cases of fraud, said APMC Minister Shivanand S Patil.
If the decision of the agricultural marketing director is not satisfactory, it can be appealed in the Karnataka Appellate Tribunal within 30 days of receiving the director’s order.
No one can set up an e-commerce platform for trading in notified agricultural produce unless he has obtained a licence, he added.
“If the licence is obtained through wilful misrepresentation or fraud, the director can suspend the licence. The director can grant a licence to set up an e-commerce platform to facilitate trade in notified agricultural produce, subject to conditions and fees and security deposit specified by the officer,” he explained.
Only licensed traders who have been granted licence by the competent authority under the new Act will be allowed to register as an e-platform. Transparency in the business operations, related activities and decisions taken on the platform is mandatory. All transaction documents should be maintained electronically, he explained.
In the case of fruits, vegetables and flowers, warehouse service providers can charge a service fee not exceeding 5% of the price of notified agricultural products and 2% for all other notified products. He explained that warehouse owners should arrange insurance against fire, theft, rain or any natural calamity, as per the Act.