In accordance with NPCI Notification: NPCI/UPI/SOP-01/2020-21, the National Payments Corporation of India (NPCI), a state-owned entity, introduced a 30% market share cap for foreign electronic payment service providers processing online payments via India’s Unified Payment Interface (UPI), which is owned and operated by NPCI. Foreign digital payment companies were required to comply with this 30% market share limit by January 2023.

India does not implement any de minimis threshold, which is the minimum value of goods below which customs do not charge duties.

Section 4 of the "Information Technology (Intermediary Guidelines and Digital Media Ethics Code) Rules, 2021" provides that significant social media intermediaries, meaning social media intermediaries having a number of registered users in India above such threshold as may be notified by the government, and online gaming intermediaries that enable users to access any permissible online real‑money game, are required to appoint a Chief Compliance Officer, a Nodal Contact Person, and a Resident Grievance Officer, all of whom must be residents of India. Such intermediaries are also required to maintain a physical contact address in India and to publish this address on their website, mobile‑based application, or both.

Section 11 of the "Information Technology (Intermediary Guidelines and Digital Media Ethics Code) Rules, 2021" stipulates that publishers of news and current affairs content, as well as publishers of online curated content, are required to appoint a Grievance Officer resident in India. The Grievance Officer serves as the designated point of contact for the receipt of grievances pertaining to the Code of Ethics and functions as the nodal interface for engagement with complainants, the self‑regulating body, and the Ministry.

The Consumer Protection Act, the Consumer Protection (E‑Commerce) Rules, and related legislation collectively establish a comprehensive framework for consumer protection that extends equally to online transactions.

India has not signed the United Nations (UN) Convention on the Use of Electronic Communications in International Contracts.

The Indian government used to block purchases of telecom equipment from Chinese vendors on national security grounds. The Department of Telecommunications amended its license conditions for mobile service providers and required them to submit all plans for the procurement of telecom equipment from foreign vendors for screening and “security clearance” purposes. Although the amendment did not single out China, it is reported that, in practice, security agencies had been blocking applications involving Chinese vendors.
The aforesaid process is soon to be replaced with a new Directive, which will enter into force in mid-2021. The Department of Telecommunications will declare a list of trusted sources and products for installations in India's telecom network. The methodology to designate trusted products will be devised by the designated authority (National Cyber Security Coordinator). As per the directive, telecom service providers will be required to connect new devices from the list of trusted products. The list of trusted sources and products will be decided based on the approval of a committee headed by the deputy national security advisor. When announcing the directive, the Telecom and IT Minister said that measures will be taken to increase the use of equipment from trusted Indian sources.

According to Condition 37.1 of the License Agreement for Unified License, issued by the Department of Telecommunications, Ministry of Communications and Information Technology, Internet Service Provider licensees are prohibited from employing bulk encryption equipment in their networks. The licensor or officers designated for this purpose have the authority to evaluate any encryption equipment connected to the licensee's network. However, the licensee remains responsible for ensuring the protection of communication privacy and preventing unauthorised message interception.

According to Section 84A of the Information Technology Act, the Government may, for secure use of the electronic medium and for the promotion of e-governance and e-commerce, prescribe the modes or methods for encryption. However, no rules have been introduced under this section.

Since the implementation of the Consolidated FDI Policy Circular of 2016, last amended by the Consolidated FD) Policy Circular of 2020, India permits fully owned FDI in business-to-business (“marketplace-based”) electronic commerce, i.e. "providing an information technology platform by an e-commerce entity on a digital & electronic network to act as a facilitator between buyer and seller." However, India prohibits foreign investment in business-to-consumer (or “inventory-based”) electronic commerce, also defined as "e-commerce activity where the inventory of goods and services is owned by an e-commerce entity and is sold to the consumers directly".
When a marketplace e-commerce entity exercises ownership or control over the inventory, the business is categorised into the inventory-based model. Additionally, India implemented regulations that expressly prohibit subsidiaries of foreign-owned marketplace-based electronic commerce sites from selling products on their parent companies’ sites. The rules also prohibit exclusivity arrangements by which electronic commerce retailers can offer a product on an exclusive basis.
The only exceptions for FDI in inventory-based electronic commerce are for food-product retailing and single-brand retailers that meet certain conditions, including the operation of physical stores in India. According to Section 5.2.15.3 of the Consolidated FDI Policy Circular of 2020, retail trading through e-commerce can also be undertaken before opening physical stores, subject to the entity opening physical stores within two years from the start of online retail. Overall, it is reported that these narrow exceptions limit the ability of many electronic commerce service suppliers to serve the Indian market.

According to Section 2 of the Companies Act of 2013, foreign companies relating to B2B, B2C e-commerce, data interchange and other digital supply transactions, web-based marketing, database services, online services such as telemarketing, telecommuting, telemedicine, education and information research and all related data communication services, even when not incorporated in India, should register in India when they are engaged in business in the country.

According to Notification No. 107/(RE-2013)/2009-2014, GSM mobile handsets’ with duplicate International Mobile Equipment Identity Number (IMEI) or fake IMEI & ‘CDMA mobile handsets’ with duplicate Electronic Serial Number (ESN)/ mobile equipment identifier (MEID) or fake ESN/MEID are added to the list of ‘Prohibited’ items for import. The Government has taken over from a private agency to issue and manage IMEI allocation for mobile phones in India.

Exporters have raised concerns regarding India’s application of customs valuation criteria to import transactions. Reports indicate that Indian customs officials occasionally reject the declared transaction value of imports, particularly for products with established benchmark prices in India. This practice can potentially increase export costs beyond the expected levels based on India's applied tariff rates. Companies have also reported extensive searches and seizures of imports, which do not seem to be risk-based. Additionally, India's customs authority typically demands extensive clearance documentation, resulting in prolonged processing delays.

According to the Import Export Classification, Indian Trade Classification – Harmonized System (ITC-HS) Code, and Import Policy 2012, certain goods require special permission or licensing in order to be imported. Selected consumer goods, including radio and TV broadcast transmitters and communication jamming equipment, are qualified as licensed/restricted items that can only be imported after obtaining an import license from India’s Directorate General of Foreign Trade (DGFT). However, it has been reported that India is increasingly using import licenses at the discretion of the authorities to limit imports of sensitive products. In addition, it is reported that the licensing system is not automatic as it involves delays, and authorised quantities can be lower than requested. Licenses are granted to actual users.

As per the Foreign Trade Policy, 2015-2020, India has distinguished between goods that are new and those that are second-hand, remanufactured, refurbished or reconditioned. The country allows the import of second-hand capital goods by end-users without an import license, provided the goods have a residual life of five years. In addition, users are required to present the certificate of an Indian chartered engineer attesting that such spare parts have at least 80% residual life of the original spare part, while second-hand domestic capital goods are not subject to this requirement. Problems reported by industry representatives include excessive details required in the license application, quantity limitations set at specific part numbers, and long delays between application and license issuance. According to a 2018 amendment (DGFT Notification No. 58/2015-2020), second-hand goods imported for repair, refurbishment, reconditioning or re-engineering purposes can be exported back under the customs notification provided that the waste generated during the repair or refurbishment of the imported items is treated in accordance with national environmental laws/regulations/rules/regulations/standards.