Plans for legal action against Evaly

The National Committee on E-Commerce has recommended that legal action be taken against online marketplace Evaly as soon as possible. The Ministry of Commerce will send a letter to the Ministry of Home Affairs for that. Evaly has been accused of failing to deliver on time, even with advance payments from customers. Besides, when the Commerce Ministry asked for an explanation in this regard, the Ministry also found discrepancies in the information given by Evaly. After an hour-and-a-half meeting at the Ministry of Commerce on Tuesday (September 14), Additional Secretary of the Ministry of Commerce and Director General of the WTO cell. Hafizur Rahman gave this information.

No time will be given to the Evaly issue

Hafizur Rahman said the Commerce Ministry does not want to take any more time on the Evaly issue. A letter will be sent to the Home Ministry to take necessary steps as a legal step in this regard as per the recommendation of the committee. The decision was taken on the basis of unanimous review and opinion in today's (Tuesday) meeting.

Asked what information has emerged as a form of fraud against Evaly, Hafizur said they have not delivered the product to date, promising to deliver on time with advance payment from the customer. This is a hoax. They did not even pay the merchant's dues. Moreover, in three phases, the ministry responded to the information requested from Evaly regarding the financial statements. But there is a discrepancy between the information given by the ministry and the answer given by Evaly. They gave wrong information. This is also a kind of deception.

Initiatives for legal action

Asked what would happen to the process of recovering the customer's dues if the activities of Evaly were stopped through the legal process, Additional Secretary Hafizur Rahman said, "We have to take legal action on the issue." However, the aggrieved customer can sue under the Consumer Rights Act. Victims can also file a case against Evaly in any police station under criminal law.

Earlier, on September 12, Bangladesh Bank had written to the Commerce Ministry to conduct separate audits of 10 e-commerce companies, including Evaly. Other companies on the list are: E-Orange Sirajganj Shop, Dhamaka, Aladdin's Lamp, Cucom, Boom Boom, Adian Mart, Need.com.bd and Alesha Mart. Hafizur Rahman said action would also be taken against these e-commerce companies. He said initially legal action would be taken on the Evaly issue. Similar action will be taken against the remaining controversial e-commerce companies.

Appoingting third parties auditors isn't possible 

Asked about the appointment of third-party auditors in the accused companies as per the recommendation of Bangladesh Bank, the director general of the WTO cell said, "The committee on e-commerce has said in its opinion that the Ministry of Commerce does not have the authority to appoint third-party auditors." Because not all organizations have registered or taken business license from the ministry. However, the government decides a lot to protect the interests of the customer. In that case, the ministry will further examine its legal jurisdiction. If necessary, the real financial picture of the companies will be brought out with the permission of the court through a third-party auditor.

Joining the meeting in a virtual manner, Barrister Tanjib, a business expert appointed to the Commerce Ministry, expressed his views and said that the Commerce Ministry should not take any more responsibility on the Evaly issue. If Evaly is allowed to continue with the current trend, the image of the government will be tarnished. Therefore, the responsibility of making a decision in this regard should be left in the hands of the law enforcement agencies without wasting time. Md. Representatives of Bangladesh Bank, NBR, RJSC, Ministry of Home Affairs and e-Cab were also present at the meeting chaired by Hafizur Rahman.

Evaly's journey in 2018

Launched in December 2018, Evaly continues to bet with all the interesting offers. However, the buyers have several complaints against the company, including not delivering the products on time as per the announcement of the offer and irregularities in refunds. Among them, a report of Bangladesh Bank has said about Evaly, till 14 March this year, Evaly did not deliver the product even with an advance of Tk 214 crore from the customers. Evaly owes Rs 190 crore to merchants. On the other hand, the current assets of Evaly are worth only Tk 75 crore. The report also states that the actual liabilities of Evaly may be higher.

Later, the Commerce Ministry formed a nine-member committee to decide on the Evaly issue. The ministry also sent various information to Evaly. Evaly is telling the Ministry of Commerce that the amount owed to them is 205 crore 8 lakh 64 thousand rupees. However, Evaly himself said that as of July 15, the company had a total liability of Rs 544 crore. Their immovable property is 105 crore 55 lakh taka and movable property is 438 crore taka. Of the movable property, Evaly has a brand value of Rs 423 crore, and an invisible property of Rs 15.63 crore. According to the assets and liabilities account till that time, the customer has a total liability of 310 crore 99 lakh 13 thousand 406 taka, said Evaly.