Tenzin Choden , Thimphu
Following reports that surfaced in both the mainstream and social media questioning the legality of online business and several accusations flung at those engaged in such ventures, some in the business have come out openly using social media to tell their part of their stories. In this exclusive with The Journalist, a representative of business owners from Global Digital Enagic (one of the groups engaged in the online business) say they were surprised when people began to allege that they were trying to con and persuade people to join the business. She claims that vested interest and fear by those seeing their business as a threat could be ones behind the unfounded allegations. She adds that an investigation could have been done through proper channel by relevant agencies and questions if “prominent social media figures,” did their part of research before arriving at conclusions.
1. What would you call the business that you are in - is it a pyramid or something similar? How is it different, if it is not?
We are independent distributors of Enagic, a global ISO certified company, with a patented direct sales commission system. We have completed self assessment on our Enagic business as per the Pyramid Scheme Identification Guideline, 2021 of the Royal Government of Bhutan and the result states that the business is not a pyramid. In this Enagic business, once you make a purchase, you either just purchase the product as a user (consumption of the good for yourself) or you become a distributor. To become a distributor, you get a distributor ID, and you are a distributor for a lifetime. Marketing the product online or offline is the individual’s choice and discretion. The business model does not require any distributor to pay monthly fees and achieve a monthly sales target. The distributor can pause or quit the business whenever he/she wants, and at the same time, also come back and continue whenever he/she wants. Enagic itself is a global business that is a member of the direct selling association. People buy products and distributors are paid commission on that product.
2. What do you have to say about the current debate on the legality of the business?
With regards to its legality in Bhutan, we are waiting to hear from relevant authorities and agencies. As for the legality of the business model in general from the international perspective, Enagic is a globally accepted business with its operation in more than 23 countries and over 40 regional locations, and it is regulated by the Direct Selling Association of the relevant region/country. Therefore, we are hopeful that our government will also come up with guidelines and licensing for digital marketers. We are happy to amend if any changes need to be made from our end.
3. Have you tried to find out from the Royal Monetary Authority (RMA) or any other relevant agency about its legality?
We have not checked with RMA because the dollar outflow is not big (minimum). Also our commission is deposited in our Bank account directly. We checked with the Ministry of Economic Affairs’ guidelines on e-commerce 2019 but we do not fall in any of the categories. Having said so, we initially started this business because Enagic was already a thriving business in Bhutan. Also, when the PSI Guideline, 2021 was introduced, we reviewed and also assessed ourselves and we are confident we do not operate as a pyramid scheme business which is illegal.
4. There are allegations that you and others who are in this business have been trying to con and persuade others to join the business? How true is it?
There is no reason for us to persuade anyone to join, as everyone is aware that the products are expensive. Why would anyone be persuaded to start if they do not believe in digital marketing or cannot afford Enagic products? With digital business, they have 30 days to decide if this Enagic business is for them or not. Alleging us as scammers is absolutely wrong; we don't scam anyone. Why would we jeopardize our identity and dignity by coming out publicly and sharing through our business and personal face book pages? Anyone who was scammed or lost their money through us has the right to report to concerned authorities and file a complaint. We all know very well that we have our law and regulations to protect consumers. Any individual who has decided to become a distributor for this business has had enough time and opportunity to assess the business risks and opportunities. Those who have decided to become distributors have done so with their own consent and without any coercion. We believe this whole issue has been raised because a distributor already selling Enagic in the country is trying to get rid of their competition.
5. After news broke out questioning the legality, what were your responses?
Initially, we were completely unaware that the scam alerts were directed towards our business because we are clear that our business doesn’t fall under scam, ponzi or pyramid schemes. We heard from reliable sources that a scam alert surfaced based on 10 complaints filed against some WhatsApp and Telegram businesses. In our training too, we are always taught on how we can stay away from scams and pyramid schemes. Hence, this was totally unexpected. We had no clue how to respond, we wanted to be digital entrepreneurs and pay our tax. In fact we were just discussing paying tax, as this is the time. Some of the business owners in Bhutan have already filed their Personal Income Tax declaring the income they received from this business. We were completely shocked and most of us just did not know why we were being targeted.
The investigation could have been done with a proper channel from the relevant agency. Instead, it seemed to target us and we were named and shamed and called scammers on public domain which was so uncalled for and unprofessional. We are also speculating if there was vested interest by those spreading false accusations, as they may be seeing our business as a threat to their business. Before making false accusations on social media by many prominent social media figures, we want to ask if they did their part of their research or arrived at a conclusion based on what was floating around. We cannot cross out the fact that our mentality at large is still stuck with the taboo that anything online is malicious. We wanted to follow an official procedure and we got that opportunity when Office of Consumer Protection (OCP) reached out to us. We appreciate this opportunity because we want to clarify our stand but we want to do it correctly and through the right channel. Is it okay to name and shame, tag people on public domain without any proof of them as scammers because they chose to work online?
6. Has the business and your morale suffered?
Yes, our business has suffered as our Bhutanese market is affected. However, our business is global and our international market is still thriving. We have been left scarred for life for working online from Bhutan. We were only looking for an opportunity to learn and grow globally. Since most of us are working full time, working parents, some raising their babies, it is impossible to sell Enagic machines door to door or open up a traditional mode of shop. This is the reason we seek out help from the system. We decided to work smart. This has also raised our concern on the journalistic integrity, code of ethics and their neutrality of their positions in informing the nation. We have been bullied and harassed on the social media platform. This has caused us anxiety and damaged our reputation. We are the victims here. We feel we should be more concerned about how some people with greater networks take on their personal agendas to hurt people’s business.
7. There are people saying that you do not pay taxes also. What is your say?
Since there is no guiding regulation for our kind of business and most of us are doing this business as a side business, we are declaring our business income as part of our personal income for tax purposes in Bhutan. Moreover, most business owners in Bhutan have just started their business and those who have earnings from this business would be required to declare their income in the current taxation period. Business owners residing outside Bhutan are already declaring and paying their taxes in their respective countries of residence.
8. Do you have any other comments?
Digitalisation is the way forward and we need to prepare to have a clear and proper regulation and guideline. Providing a regulated space for aspiring business owners to grow, as well as necessary protection for our consumers is what we need. We are hopeful that concerned regulatory authorities will come out with a long-term solution to enable growth of Bhutanese business entrepreneurs to grow in the online space. Otherwise, disallowing Bhutanese will only make it easier for international marketers to target the Bhutanese market which would make it even more difficult for the authorities to regulate.
Following reports that surfaced in both the mainstream and social media questioning the legality of online business and several accusations flung at those engaged in such ventures, some in the business have come out openly using social media to tell their part of their stories. In this exclusive with The Journalist, a representative of business owners from Global Digital Enagic (one of the groups engaged in the online business) say they were surprised when people began to allege that they were trying to con and persuade people to join the business. She claims that vested interest and fear by those seeing their business as a threat could be ones behind the unfounded allegations. She adds that an investigation could have been done through proper channel by relevant agencies and questions if “prominent social media figures,” did their part of research before arriving at conclusions.
1. What would you call the business that you are in - is it a pyramid or something similar? How is it different, if it is not?
We are independent distributors of Enagic, a global ISO certified company, with a patented direct sales commission system. We have completed self assessment on our Enagic business as per the Pyramid Scheme Identification Guideline, 2021 of the Royal Government of Bhutan and the result states that the business is not a pyramid. In this Enagic business, once you make a purchase, you either just purchase the product as a user (consumption of the good for yourself) or you become a distributor. To become a distributor, you get a distributor ID, and you are a distributor for a lifetime. Marketing the product online or offline is the individual’s choice and discretion. The business model does not require any distributor to pay monthly fees and achieve a monthly sales target. The distributor can pause or quit the business whenever he/she wants, and at the same time, also come back and continue whenever he/she wants. Enagic itself is a global business that is a member of the direct selling association. People buy products and distributors are paid commission on that product.
2. What do you have to say about the current debate on the legality of the business?
With regards to its legality in Bhutan, we are waiting to hear from relevant authorities and agencies. As for the legality of the business model in general from the international perspective, Enagic is a globally accepted business with its operation in more than 23 countries and over 40 regional locations, and it is regulated by the Direct Selling Association of the relevant region/country. Therefore, we are hopeful that our government will also come up with guidelines and licensing for digital marketers. We are happy to amend if any changes need to be made from our end.
3. Have you tried to find out from the Royal Monetary Authority (RMA) or any other relevant agency about its legality?
We have not checked with RMA because the dollar outflow is not big (minimum). Also our commission is deposited in our Bank account directly. We checked with the Ministry of Economic Affairs’ guidelines on e-commerce 2019 but we do not fall in any of the categories. Having said so, we initially started this business because Enagic was already a thriving business in Bhutan. Also, when the PSI Guideline, 2021 was introduced, we reviewed and also assessed ourselves and we are confident we do not operate as a pyramid scheme business which is illegal.
4. There are allegations that you and others who are in this business have been trying to con and persuade others to join the business? How true is it?
There is no reason for us to persuade anyone to join, as everyone is aware that the products are expensive. Why would anyone be persuaded to start if they do not believe in digital marketing or cannot afford Enagic products? With digital business, they have 30 days to decide if this Enagic business is for them or not. Alleging us as scammers is absolutely wrong; we don't scam anyone. Why would we jeopardize our identity and dignity by coming out publicly and sharing through our business and personal face book pages? Anyone who was scammed or lost their money through us has the right to report to concerned authorities and file a complaint. We all know very well that we have our law and regulations to protect consumers. Any individual who has decided to become a distributor for this business has had enough time and opportunity to assess the business risks and opportunities. Those who have decided to become distributors have done so with their own consent and without any coercion. We believe this whole issue has been raised because a distributor already selling Enagic in the country is trying to get rid of their competition.
5. After news broke out questioning the legality, what were your responses?
Initially, we were completely unaware that the scam alerts were directed towards our business because we are clear that our business doesn’t fall under scam, ponzi or pyramid schemes. We heard from reliable sources that a scam alert surfaced based on 10 complaints filed against some WhatsApp and Telegram businesses. In our training too, we are always taught on how we can stay away from scams and pyramid schemes. Hence, this was totally unexpected. We had no clue how to respond, we wanted to be digital entrepreneurs and pay our tax. In fact we were just discussing paying tax, as this is the time. Some of the business owners in Bhutan have already filed their Personal Income Tax declaring the income they received from this business. We were completely shocked and most of us just did not know why we were being targeted.
The investigation could have been done with a proper channel from the relevant agency. Instead, it seemed to target us and we were named and shamed and called scammers on public domain which was so uncalled for and unprofessional. We are also speculating if there was vested interest by those spreading false accusations, as they may be seeing our business as a threat to their business. Before making false accusations on social media by many prominent social media figures, we want to ask if they did their part of their research or arrived at a conclusion based on what was floating around. We cannot cross out the fact that our mentality at large is still stuck with the taboo that anything online is malicious. We wanted to follow an official procedure and we got that opportunity when Office of Consumer Protection (OCP) reached out to us. We appreciate this opportunity because we want to clarify our stand but we want to do it correctly and through the right channel. Is it okay to name and shame, tag people on public domain without any proof of them as scammers because they chose to work online?
6. Has the business and your morale suffered?
Yes, our business has suffered as our Bhutanese market is affected. However, our business is global and our international market is still thriving. We have been left scarred for life for working online from Bhutan. We were only looking for an opportunity to learn and grow globally. Since most of us are working full time, working parents, some raising their babies, it is impossible to sell Enagic machines door to door or open up a traditional mode of shop. This is the reason we seek out help from the system. We decided to work smart. This has also raised our concern on the journalistic integrity, code of ethics and their neutrality of their positions in informing the nation. We have been bullied and harassed on the social media platform. This has caused us anxiety and damaged our reputation. We are the victims here. We feel we should be more concerned about how some people with greater networks take on their personal agendas to hurt people’s business.
7. There are people saying that you do not pay taxes also. What is your say?
Since there is no guiding regulation for our kind of business and most of us are doing this business as a side business, we are declaring our business income as part of our personal income for tax purposes in Bhutan. Moreover, most business owners in Bhutan have just started their business and those who have earnings from this business would be required to declare their income in the current taxation period. Business owners residing outside Bhutan are already declaring and paying their taxes in their respective countries of residence.
8. Do you have any other comments?
Digitalisation is the way forward and we need to prepare to have a clear and proper regulation and guideline. Providing a regulated space for aspiring business owners to grow, as well as necessary protection for our consumers is what we need. We are hopeful that concerned regulatory authorities will come out with a long-term solution to enable growth of Bhutanese business entrepreneurs to grow in the online space. Otherwise, disallowing Bhutanese will only make it easier for international marketers to target the Bhutanese market which would make it even more difficult for the authorities to regulate.
