Appeal to the General Public of India

DIRECT SELLING / NETWORK MARKETING IS AN INDUSTRY WORLDWIDE

• Direct Selling / Network Marketing business is flourishing across the world. It took entry in India during mid-90’s and it was a new field to the Indian society. Many multinational as well as Indian companies started their business in India. 
• Ministry of Consumer Affairs, Government of India, permitted many product selling companies to do business in India and also clarified that Direct Selling / Network Marketing / Multilevel Marketing is not illegal through F No: 21/22/IT/2001 and on March 31^st 2003, wrote to Chief Secretaries of all State Governments stating that Direct Selling / Network Marketing / Multilevel Marketing do not fall under the purview of Prize Chits and Money Circulation (Banning) Act, 1978 and asked them to direct the concerned authorities not to harass these Direct Selling / Network Marketing / Multilevel Marketing companies.
• Under the garb of Direct Selling / Network Marketing/Multilevel Marketing, many illegal companies have mushroomed and took advantage of Direct Selling / Network Marketing system. Certain vested interests are fooling the authorities and the people with their look alike Direct Selling / Network Marketing / Multilevel Marketing companies.

DIRECT SELLING / NETWORK MARKETING / MLM COMPANY

INVESTMENT COMPANY POSING TO BE NETWORK MARKETING COMPANY

In MLM, product is procured directly from the manufacturer and is sold directly to consumer, thus saving middle-men margins. Receipt of payment is always against the sale of products. Some consumers help the company to sell the products.  The middle-men margin is distributed amongst such people after the product is sold. There is no fixed income. People get commission only if they are active in the system and generate revenue for the company by way of promoting/selling their product.

This is not MLM. Such companies are only posing as MLM Companies. The company attracts money on the pretext of fixed return on the money deposited with them. People are encouraged to bring more & more people for investments. The company commits to pay to people without doing any work.

• Direct Selling / Network marketing is a legitimate business wherein product move from company to consumer and commission is generated only after the sale of product.
• Fraudulent individuals / companies pose as direct selling / network marketing company, run bogus investment schemes, offer high return/fixed returns on large sum of investments and dupe people. These are NOT network marketing companies.
• These financial fraudsters are tarnishing the image of Direct Selling / Network Marketing in the eyes of Administration & people at large.
• A fraud in insurance sector does not mean the insurance industry fraud; A fraud in shares / stock broking do not mean the stock market is fraud. Similarly any fraud in the name of network marketing / multilevel marketing does not mean that network marketing / multilevel marketing is fraud.
• Direct selling and network marketing companies are becoming soft targets of police / administration because of these imposters who loot people in the name of network marketing.
• Mr. V Sreenivasa Prasad, Minister of State, Union ministry of Consumer Affairs, Food & Public Distribution answered a question in Lok Sabha on December 20^th 2002 on Direct Selling / Network Marketing – The provision of the prize chits and money circulation scheme (Banning) act 1978 seek to ban the promotion or conduct of prize chits & money circulation schemes. The provisions of the Act had come up for scrutiny before the Hon. Supreme Court of India which ruled that the Network Marketing and Direct Sale of goods and services by the Direct Selling companies do not fall within the mischief of the prize Chits & Money Circulation Scheme (banning) Act 1978.

• We appeal the Government to come up with guidelines for Direct Selling / Network Marketing companies to distinguish them from fraud companies posing as Network Marketing and allow Indian companies work like multinational direct selling / network marketing companies in India.

• APPEAL TO THE PUBLIC
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• IDENTIFY THE NATURE OF WORK IN THE COMPANY.
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• BEWARE OF COMPANIES INVITING INVESTMENTS & OFFERING HIGH/FIXED RETURNS;
  YOU MAY LOSE YOUR MONEY IN SUCH COMPANIES.
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GENUINE BUSINESS ALWAYS DEMANDS WORK;
NO BUSINESS GIVES RETURNS WITHOUT ANY WORK.