K'taka Assembly passes APMC Amendment Bill to regulate e-commerce companies
Bengaluru, Mar 10 (PTI): The Karnataka Agricultural Produce Marketing (Regulation and Development) (Amendment) Bill was passed by the Karnataka Assembly on Monday.
State Agricultural Marketing Minister Shivanand Patil who presented the bill in the state Assembly said that earlier the government was regulating only the APMC yards but once the bill becomes a law, those doing business on the e-platform will have to operate within its framework.
“For example, D Mart, Big Basket, Amazon and Udaan come in our e-commerce platform. They are doing business evading our legal provisions. We are bringing this law to regulate them from doing business without paying cess,” Patil told the House.
He also said that in the previous law, there was just the reference to ‘trader’ but now the government has incorporated ‘warehouse service providers’ in the bill.
“We have also defined the duties of ‘warehouse service providers’. Along with that, we have given power to regulate them to the APMC Director. There is also a provision to go for appeal against the director in the appellate authority,” Patil explained.
The Minister said recently Udaan had paid a fine of Rs 25 lakh for evading cess.
The bill defines an ‘e-commerce platform’ as an online medium that facilitates licensed traders to sell notified agricultural produce to licensed retail traders within the market area, strictly for consumer sales and not for resale or processing. It also allows farmers to make payments through e-payment methods.
The amendment defines a warehouse service provider as an entity that charges a service fee only from the buyer of the notified agricultural produce, with a cap of five per cent of the sale price for fruits, vegetables, and flowers, and two per cent for all other notified produce.
The warehouse service provider is required to ensure the safe custody and storage of the seller’s goods and provide adequate insurance coverage against fire, theft, floods, rain, or other natural calamities.
Additionally, the provider must arrange fire-fighting facilities, electronic weighing systems, e-trading facilities, assaying services, quality certification, commodity price displays in markets, and other facilities as prescribed by the Director of Agricultural Marketing. The provider must also facilitate pledge loan arrangements.
The government also outlined the regulations for establishing and operating e-commerce platforms for trading notified agricultural produce, stating that such platforms can only function after obtaining the necessary licenses.
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Probe into Zubeen Garg's death ongoing, no foul play suspected yet: Singapore police
Singapore (PTI): Investigations into the death of singer Zubeen Garg are ongoing but so far no foul play is suspected, Singapore police have said.
Garg died under mysterious circumstances while swimming in the sea in Singapore on September 19.
The case is currently still being investigated by the Singapore Police Force (SPF), in accordance with the Singapore Coroners Act 2010, the police said on Thursday.
“Based on our investigations so far, the SPF does not suspect foul play in the death of Garg,” said the statement.
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Upon completion of the investigations, the findings will be submitted to the State Coroner in Singapore, who will hold a Coroner’s Inquiry (CI), currently scheduled for January and February 2026.
A CI is a fact-finding process led by the Coroner to establish the cause and circumstances of death. Its findings will be made public upon conclusion, said the SPF.
Singapore police are committed to conducting a thorough and professional investigation into the case, it said.
“We seek the patience and understanding of the parties involved. Meanwhile, we urge the public not to speculate and spread unverified information,” said SPF.
A Special Investigation Team probing Garg's death charged four accused, including the singer’s secretary Siddhartha Sharma and festival organiser Shyamkanu Mahanta, with murder in a chargesheet filed in a court in India last week.
Garg was due to perform at the 4th Northeast India Festival at Suntec Singapore Convention and Exhibition Centre on September 20.
