The Internet has opened up a new horizon for trade and commerce, namely electronic commerce (e-commerce). E-commerce entails the use of the Internet in the marketing, identification, payment and delivery of goods and services. This paper highlights the implementation strategy, implementation scope and implementation constraints in e-commerce of Bangladesh. Also the challenges in implementing them are discussed. Major legal, regulatory and institutional constraints to e-commerce are identified. The paper also lists specific policy changes aimed at bringing improvements to the legal and regulatory environment affecting e-commerce.

Technology is evolving faster than people’s ability to absorb it. The dramatic rise of the Internet has transformed the way business has traditionally been run. Thanks to the Internet, no longer is business restricted to limited geographical regions. Satellite communication and the Internet have made it possible for people to communicate almost instantly across continents accurately, efficiently and speedily.

Today’s industrial economy is evolving into a new business, environment in which money, goods, services and information are exchanged electronically. The Internet has thus thrown up unprecedented opportunities for even the smallest of businesses to compete with global conglomerates, while giving the bigger companies the possibility of reaching out further to its customers.

Internet’s greatest strength is its standard protocol; which enables communication from anywhere to anywhere, from any computer to any computer, completely transparent to those who are sending and receiving messages. It is the aspect of the Internet that allows companies to link their suppliers, buyers, reduce cycle time of time to market; thus enabling them to give competitive prices and operate profitably what seemed impossible has now become more than possible.

Today, companies are discovering that using the Internet for e-commerce has immense benefit. Today, several business applications are being developed on/for the Internet. Since the Net has the capability to bring together, individuals and corporate that are geographically apart, it has opened up an enormous opportunity of doing business transactions between such physically distant entities. This new business paradigm that is fast emerging is better known as “E-Commerce”

In Bangladesh, e-commerce is just evolving, but the ball has been set rolling for an Internet revolution. E-commerce is no longer a luxury but a reality2. In the year 1990, there were about 1000pc sold in the country but it raised more than one lakh. Now, it is estimated that more than 60 ISP have been working in this country and there are more than 2 lakhs Internet users in the country3. So, there is a vast chance for the expansion of e-commerce in Bangladesh.

The Internet has opened up a new horizon for commerce, namely electronic commerce (ecommerce). The Internet, through advanced mechanisms of data transfer networks, establishes global linkages between customers and suppliers regardless of geographic location. E-commerce entails the use of the Internet in the marketing, identification, payment and delivery of goods and services. It involves order processing at company Websites and securing Electronic Fund Transfer (EFT) payment systems. An e-market is a facilitated online environment that connects multiple buyers and suppliers in a single, Web-based hub to more effectively match supply and demand while reducing transaction cycles and costs. The e-marketplace works for companies engaging in collaborative business.

This is an Internet site where goods and services suppliers publish catalogues of their wares and service offerings, which can be accessed by a large number of buyers. Value-added services an e-market can offer include the provision of automated documents to speed up the negotiation process, decision-support information, and other e-commerce services – such as company profiles and financial services for credit checks, online transaction processing, and access to efficient means of fulfillment.

E means Internet and commerce means business. When we will break e-commerce into e and business, the definition is clear. E simply means anything done via the Internet and business means business. In this regard, electronic commerce is the process of doing business electronically or over the Internet. It involves the automation of a variety of business-to-business and business to consumer transactions through reliable and secure connections.

E-commerce can be defined as marketing, buying, selling and supporting goods and services by using Web based technologies, which allow the commerce through electronic media. Recently, the definition of e-commerce has broadened to encompass business conducted over the Internet and includes individuals and companies not previously known to each other. E-commerce encompasses the entire online process of developing, marketing, selling, delivering, servicing and paying for products and services purchased by Internet worked, global virtual communities of customers, with the support of a worldwide network of business partners. Electronic commerce systems rely on the resources of the Internet, intranet, extranets and other computer networks to support every step of this process.

According to Bajaj and Nag5, “E-commerce refers to the paperless exchange of business information using EDI, Electronic mail, Electronic Bulletin, Boards, Electronic Funds Transfer and other network-based technologies. It is not only automates manual processes and paper transactions, but also helps organizations move to a fully electronic environment and change the way they operate”. For the concrete conception about e-commerce the following definition can be put here.

“E-commerce is about doing business electronically and encompasses many diverse activities both in the business-to-business market and in the business-to consumer market. Activities include electronic trading of goods and service, online delivery of digital content, electronic fund transfer, electronic share trading, commercial auctions, collaborative design and engineering online sourcing, public procurement, direct consumer marketing and after- sales service. It involves both products (e.g. consumer goods) and services (e.g. information services, financial and legal services”. Finally it can be conclude by saying that e-commerce is the pre-eminent buzzword of the online business revolution. It captures the excitement and focus of this fast emerging market. But it is more than a slogan or glib party line. At its core it embodies a concept for doing business online.