E-commerce Rules

The Central Consumer Protection Authority (CCPA) has initiated suo motu action against e-commerce platforms for listing and selling unauthorised walkie-talkies in violation of the Consumer Protection Act, 2019 and telecom laws, issuing final orders against eight entities and imposing penalties totalling Rs 44 lakh. Notices were issued to 13 e-commerce entities -- Chimiya, JioMart, Talk Pro, Meesho, MaskMan Toys, TradeIndia, Antriksh Technologies, Vardaanmart, IndiaMart, Meta Platforms Inc. (Facebook Marketplace), Flipkart, Krishna Mart, and Amazon, following the identification of over 16,970 non-compliant product listings across platforms. The CCPA found that platforms were facilitating the sale of Personal Mobile Radios (PMRs) operating outside the license-exempt frequency band, without Equipment Type Approval (ETA) certification or proper disclosure of licensing requirements. Penalties of Rs 10 lakh and Rs 1 lakh imposed The authority imposed penalties of Rs 10 lakh each on Meesh

According to a report by Blume Ventures, an early-stage venture fund, India's qcom market surged from $300 million in FY22 to an expected $7.1 billion in FY25

The ₹2,000 crore investment into Amazon India will go towards expanding fulfilment centres, improving safety and automation, and more

The consumer authority has directed all platforms to complete a self-audit within three months and submit a declaration to ensure they do not use deceptive design practices

After receiving the notice earlier this year, the platform has tweaked its interface, allowing customers to choose whether they wish to donate or not

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The monthly transacting users in the sector increased by over 40 per cent in 2024 and the average monthly orders per customer rose from 4.4 in 2021 to 6 in 2024

The government's draft highlights new challenges in consumer protection and trust introduced by e-commerce

The government has rolled out draft guidelines for e-commerce platforms, mandating self-regulatory measures to protect consumers from fraudulent practices amid the fast-growing digital shopping landscape in India. The draft guidelines, titled 'E-commerce-Principles and Guidelines for Self Governance', have been prepared by the Bureau of Indian Standards (BIS) under the Food and Consumer Affairs Ministry's supervision, seeking stakeholder comments by February 15. "...the rise of e-commerce has introduced new challenges, particularly in terms of consumer protection and trust. The importance of clear and effective rules and norms for self-governance in e-commerce cannot be further emphasized in this context," the draft stated. The framework introduces three-phase principles covering pre-transaction, contract formation, and post-transaction stages for e-commerce operations. Under pre-transaction requirements, platforms must conduct thorough KYC of business partners, especially third-pa

Major e-commerce platforms such as Zomato, Ajio and Ola will adopt a Safety Pledge on National Consumer Day on December 24 as part of steps to enhance product safety for online shoppers. The voluntary commitment, announced by the Department of Consumer Affairs, aims to detect and prevent the sale of unsafe and spurious products on digital marketplaces, an official statement said. A committee chaired by consumer activist Pushpa Girimaji developed the pledge after extensive stakeholder consultations in November 2023. With India projected to have 500 million online shoppers by 2030 and currently hosting 880 million internet users, the initiative addresses critical challenges in the rapidly expanding e-commerce landscape. The pledge requires platforms to cooperate with statutory authorities and raise product safety awareness among sellers. "The unique nature of e-commerce, where physical product examination is impossible, makes this safety initiative crucial," the department said. The

Saurabh Garg further added that the ministry is also looking for ways to tap alternative data sources, like night lights data and e-commerce prices, for its surveys

The complainant, a resident of Goregaon, said she had bought 13 small plastic containers of an health drink mix for Rs 4,641 from Flipkart in October 2023

Commerce and Industry Minister Piyush Goyal on Tuesday said that India's current account deficit (CAD) is manageable as it is doing well in services exports. He said that the import numbers of the country are correlated with exports as much of the imported goods are shipped back after value addition. "Our services exports are significant. It is an increasingly growing surplus. So if I have a trade deficit of USD 250-300 billion, almost USD 175-200 billion get made up by services exports. So the net CAD is still in the one per cent of GDP category, which I do not think is a matter of serious enough to be concerned about," he said at an event here. The country's CAD widened marginally to USD 9.7 billion or 1.1 per cent of the GDP in April-June 2024 against USD 8.9 billion or 1 per cent in the year-ago period. A current account deficit occurs when the value of goods and services imported and other payments exceed the value of the export of goods and services and other receipts by a ..

The government is verifying mandatory disclosures on packaged products sold through quick commerce companies, a senior government official said on Tuesday, signalling potential regulatory action against non-compliant firms. Consumer Affairs Secretary Nidhi Khare told reporters the government is examining whether these companies are adhering to the Legal Metrology Act, which requires disclosure of key product information. "We are examining mandatory disclosures on packaged products sold via quick commerce companies," Khare said. The act mandates that packaged goods sold both online and offline must display information including maximum retail price, expiration date, weight, manufacturer details, and consumer grievance addresses. Khare indicated that the Consumer Affairs Ministry may take action against quick commerce companies found to be in violation of these disclosure requirements. The move comes as quick commerce gains popularity in India, with companies promising ultra-fast ..

CCI launched its investigation into Amazon and Flipkart in 2020 for allegedly pushing select sellers to the top of search results, while sidelining others

The company had, earlier this year, launched its own logistics service, Valmo, but also relies on 3PL providers such as Delhivery, Ecom Express, Shadowfax, and Xpressbees to fulfil deliveries

FMCG distributors have raised concerns over the "rapid and unregulated growth" of quick commerce platforms, saying it needs immediate scrutiny. In a letter written to Commerce & Industry Minister Piyush Goyal, FMCG distributors' body AICPDF said this unchecked expansion of quick commerce platforms, which typically deliver goods within 10 to 30 minutes, is creating an "uneven playing field", threatening the livelihoods of millions of small retailers and distributors who have been the backbone of India's retail sector for decades. The All India Consumer Products Distributors Federation (AICPDF) also suspected potential violations of FDI regulations by these quick-commerce companies and sought an immediate investigation into the operational models of these platforms. The rapid growth of quick commerce platforms like Blinkit, Zepto and Instamart has posed significant challenges to the traditional retail sector and the established fast-moving consumer goods (FMCG) distribution ...

Flipkart has emerged as the most popular e-commerce platform among most income groups, while Amazon is on par with it in some classes

The government on Tuesday announced setting up of hubs to promote exports through e-commerce medium in public-private-partnership (PPP) mode. Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman said that these hubs, under a seamless regulatory and logistic framework, will facilitate trade and export-related services under one roof. "To enable MSMEs (micro, small and medium enterprises) and traditional artisans to sell their products in international markets, e-commerce export hubs will be set up in PPP mode," she said. Commerce Secretary Sunil Barthwal has recently said that a regulatory framework to push the country's exports through e-commerce medium is expected to be ready by September. At present, India's exports through this medium are only about USD 5 billion compared to China's USD 300 billion, annually. There is a potential to take it to USD 50-100 billion in the coming years. Through these hubs, small producers will be facilitated to sell to aggregators and then that aggregator will find

JD.com is through to the second stage of bidding after submitting a non-binding offer last month, the people said