Gems and Jewellery Export Promotion Council (GJEPC) on Thursday said it is working with the government to formulate a comprehensive e-commerce policy for the sector players to promote exports.
GJPEC chairman Colin Shah said the council has also inked a memorandum of understanding (MoU) with eBay to reach global markets through this platform.
He expressed confidence that the policy would be ready by March or April.
The council and the government are engaging with various stakeholders like the Post, RBI and Customs to come up with the policy and procedural facilitations for enabling domestic exporters to undertake retail B2C exports through e-commerce, he told reporters.
With the Customs, he said, "we are working for an SOP (standard operating procedure) on courier (import and export), RMS (risk management systems) based clearance and fast track systems".
"GJEPC is working with the government for a comprehensive e-commerce policy for gems and jewellery for SEZ and DTA exporters," he added.
On the partnership with eBay, Shah urged the council's members to register on the eBay platform as they are offering three months free subscription to get listed.
"This partnership with eBay will help all our exporters, including MSMEs, across the country," he added.
This partnership would help in reaching global markets, enable MSMEs to reach out to overseas customers, and broad basing of exports and with eBay, "we hope to reach 100s of countries", he noted.
The agreement was signed with ES Online Services (India) Pvt Ltd, an eBay group company, to provide impetus to Indian gem and jewellery sellers on the global e-marketplace and explore potential business collaborations.
Under the MoU, eBay will create a microsite ('Made in India' page) for GJEPC members selling on its websites.
ES Online will facilitate awareness workshops, webinars and seminars to educate GJEPC members about e-commerce retail exports opportunities and train on policies and best practices in product listings, selling, shipping and customer services.
It will also provide information on cross-border trade, such as market studies, latest design trends, standards and specifications.
Shah said the platform will enable Indian jewellers to have easy access to international buyers.
For the members, eBay would offer its basic store subscription (worth USD 27.95 per month) free of cost for three months from the date of registration/sign-up on the eBay marketplace.
eBay India Country Manager Vidmay Naini said the online platform would handhold members of GJEPC and provide training.
The company is working on its payment platform to extend it in India later this year, Naini added.
