Summary
- The usage of e-commerce since the outbreak of Covid-19 in mid-March has increased. A lot of transactions and operations were digitised to provide for maximum physical distancing.
- There has also been an increased demand for web-based business solutions, online payment and virtual meetings. A large number of businesses have to embrace e-commerce.
- Post-Covid legal services in Kenya, for example, have gone digital. Many corporate transactions, whether it was the registration of new businesses, tax filings, land registrations and others were done digitally even before the outbreak of Covid-19.
The usage of e-commerce
since the outbreak of Covid-19 in mid-March has increased. A lot of
transactions and operations were digitised to provide for maximum
physical distancing.
There has also been an increased
demand for web-based business solutions, online payment and virtual
meetings. A large number of businesses have to embrace e-commerce.
Post-Covid
legal services in Kenya, for example, have gone digital. Many corporate
transactions, whether it was the registration of new businesses, tax
filings, land registrations and others were done digitally even before
the outbreak of Covid-19.
The pandemic enhanced digitisation in the legal sector. Access to justice through courts is now a digital affair.
This
begins from the filing of cases, payment of court filing fees and
conduct of the proceedings. Digital operations will be the new normal.
While the digitisation of legal services has a positive effect in terms
of saving time, it has had the negative impact of causing job losses for
some in the legal sector.
Clerks and other paralegals risk job cuts as the need for physical presence at the court registries is minimal.
To
be a competitive paralegal, one must possess information technology
skills and diversify to offer their service as a support service to law
firms.
A laid-off paralegal can consider offering
e-filing support services to several law firms. At a one-off fee, you
would provide e-filing support services to several law firms. There is a
high demand for that.
This is just a synopsis of the
legal sector. However, all sectors will also be affected. It is,
therefore, important to know the legal landscape for e-commerce in
Kenya. For starters, there is no standalone legislation on e-commerce.
The laws and regulations are contained in several legislations unlike in
countries like the United Kingdom, where the law stands alone.
The standalone legislation enhances consumer protection and e-commerce.
In the UK regulation of e-commerce, for example, websites are all regulated.
They
are required to provide the name, physical address, e-mails, business
registration numbers and value-added tax numbers on the website. They
must display the prices of goods and services.
All of these requirements protect consumers. The same provisions provide for online contracts in a very detailed manner.
Under
the UK e-commerce law, it is possible to sue against illegal
transactions. In the case of L’Oreal versus eBay, the former sued eBay
for selling their products on their online platform without L’Oreal’s
consent.
The lack of standalone legislation in Kenya
exposes the consumer to a lot of risks like fraud, especially, where the
identity of the purported sellers, their contacts and details are not
known.
There are some developments, however, in the e-commerce sector in Kenya, which are commendable.
One
is that it is easier to enter into electronic contracts in Kenya with
the recognition of electronic signatures. The law now recognises digital
agreements. However, use a recognised provider for the ICT and evidence
laws to allow the digital signature.
Profits made from digital businesses shall now be subject to a tax soon. It is an important development for those in e-commerce.
However,
compliance in matters of digital tax may be difficult due to a lack of
standalone e-commerce law. Such a law would not only enhance consumer
welfare but also support taxation.
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