Strengthening E-Commerce Consumer Protection in Bangladesh: Legal Challenges, Regulatory Gaps, and Reform Strategies

Joydeep Chowdhury
Additional contact information
Joydeep Chowdhury: Lecturer and Assistant Coordinator, Department of Law Faculty of Arts and Humanities, Sonargaon University (SU) 147/I, Green Road, Tejgaon, Dhaka-1215, Bangladesh Advocate, District and Sessions Judge Court, Dhaka, Bangladesh LLB (Honours), LLM (First Class) University of Dhaka, Bangladesh

International Journal of Research and Innovation in Social Science, 2025, vol. 9, issue 1, 2548-2567

Abstract: The rapid expansion of e-commerce in Bangladesh has revolutionized the marketplace, offering consumers unparalleled convenience and accessibility. However, this growth has also exposed significant legal and regulatory challenges, particularly in consumer protection. Fraudulent transactions, misleading advertisements, delayed refunds, weak data privacy protections, and cyber security threats have raised serious concerns about the effectiveness of existing legal frameworks. This study critically examines the adequacy of current laws, including the Consumers’ Rights Protection Act, 2009, the Cyber Security Act, 2023, and the Digital Commerce Operational Guidelines, 2021, in safeguarding online consumers. It identifies key gaps such as overlapping regulatory jurisdictions, weak enforcement mechanisms, and the absence of a dedicated e-commerce consumer protection law, which collectively undermine consumer rights in digital transactions. Through comparative legal analysis, the study evaluates best practices from India and the European Union (EU), including India’s Consumer Protection Act, 2019, and the EU’s General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR) and Digital Services Act (DSA). These international models highlight potential regulatory improvements that could be adapted to the Bangladeshi context. The study also incorporates case studies of major e-commerce frauds, such as Evaly, Eorange, and Daraz refund delays, to illustrate systemic regulatory failures. To address these issues, the research proposes a unified E-Commerce Consumer Protection Act, mandatory registration for online businesses, stricter data protection laws, and the establishment of e-commerce consumer courts for swift dispute resolution. Additionally, it emphasizes the need for greater inter-agency coordination, stronger enforcement agencies, and enhanced consumer awareness programs. The findings underscore the urgent necessity of legal and policy reforms to foster a transparent, secure, and consumer-friendly e-commerce ecosystem in Bangladesh, ensuring long-term digital economic growth.

Date: 2025
References: View complete reference list from CitEc
Citations:

Downloads: (external link)
https://www.rsisinternational.org/journals/ijriss/ ... ssue-1/2548-2567.pdf (application/pdf)
https://rsisinternational.org/journals/ijriss/arti ... d-reform-strategies/ (text/html)

Related works:
This item may be available elsewhere in EconPapers: Search for items with the same title.

Export reference: BibTeX RIS (EndNote, ProCite, RefMan) HTML/Text

Persistent link: https://EconPapers.repec.org/RePEc:bcp:journl:v:9:y:2025:i:1:p:2548-2567

Access Statistics for this article

International Journal of Research and Innovation in Social Science is currently edited by Dr. Nidhi Malhan

More articles in International Journal of Research and Innovation in Social Science from International Journal of Research and Innovation in Social Science (IJRISS)
Bibliographic data for series maintained by Dr. Pawan Verma ().