The Karnataka assembly on March 10 approved a bill regulating e-commerce platforms such as Amazon BigBasket and D-Mart. The bill asks them to pay a cess to local mandis when they sell staples such as rice, flour, fruits and vegetables. It also covers “warehouse service providers’ or those offering dark stores. The Agricultural Marketing Director has now been empowered to take action in cases of cess fraud, the bill says. It mandates transparency in business operations, requiring all transaction records to be maintained electronically. The director has to resolve disputes within 60 days after providing an opportunity for objections. If the decision is disputed, an appeal can be filed with the Karnataka Appellate Tribunal within 30 days of receiving the order. For fruits, vegetables and flowers, warehouse service providers can charge a maximum of 5 percent of the sale price as the service fee. For all other notified agricultural products, it is capped at 2 percent. It is also required that warehouse owners must also ensure insurance coverage against fire, theft, rain, or other natural calamities as per the Act.