Question

Ms He Ting Ru: To ask the Deputy Prime Minister and Minister for Trade and Industry (a) whether the Competition and Consumer Commission of Singapore (CCCS) is monitoring and publishing data on commission fees and clauses of dominant e-commerce and online food-delivery platforms; and (b) whether CCCS will conduct a fresh market study and issue remedies or guidance, building on its 2020 inquiries, to prevent excessive costs associated with online trading that harm SMEs.

Written Answer by Deputy Prime Minister and Minister for Trade and Industry Gan Kim Yong

1. The Competition and Consumer Commission of Singapore (CCS) does not ordinarily collect and publish commercially sensitive data such as commission fees or contractual clauses applied by e-commerce platforms. Instead, CCS actively monitors market developments and intervenes where there are concerns relating to competition and consumer protection. For example, CCS has conducted multiple investigations into potentially anti-competitive practices in the online food delivery sector since 2016. Recently, CCS has also intervened in a merger involving food delivery platforms.

2. Beyond market surveillance and enforcement, CCS also works with businesses to raise industry standards and address competition and consumer protection issues in the digital space. Most recently, CCS, together with the Singapore Standards Council under Enterprise Singapore, collaborated with e-commerce platforms and industry players to enhance the Technical Reference 76 on e-commerce transactions (TR 76). The enhanced TR 76 builds on earlier updates to CCS’s competition guidelines arising from the 2020 market study, to provide further guidance to e-commerce platforms on best practices to ensure fair treatment of merchants, promote an open and competitive e-commerce market, as well as enhance consumer protection and trust.

3. Ultimately, the best approach to safeguard the interests of merchants and consumers is to ensure competitive markets so that prices are fair. The Government will investigate and intervene where there are market failures, and we welcome feedback from businesses and consumers to help us do so effectively.