Lok Sabha Question No. 1311 (UNSTARRED), answered on 2022-02-09
Subject: E-Commerce Companies
Ministry: CONSUMER AFFAIRS, FOOD AND PUBLIC DISTRIBUTION
Asked by: Behanan Benny

## Government of India

## Ministry of Consumer Affairs, Food and Public Distribution Department of Consumer Affairs

## LOK SABHA

## UNSTARRED QUESTION NO. 1311

TO BE ANSWERED ON 09.02.2022

## E-COMMERCE COMPANIES

## 1311. SHRI BENNY BEHANAN:

## Will  the  Minister  of CONSUMER AFFAIRS, FOOD AND PUBLIC DISTRIBUTION miHkksDrk ekeys] [kk| vkSj lkoZtfud forj.k ea=h be pleased to state:

- (a) whether recently notices have been issued to some e-commerce companies for sale of non-Bureau of  Indian  Standards  (BIS)  quality  pressure  cookers,  helmets,  etc.,  and  for  declaring  incorrect information  about  products  on  their  platforms  like  country  of  origin,  expiry  date,  etc.,  thereby deceiving the common man;
- (b) if  so,  the  details  thereof  and the number of such violations that has come to light during the last three years, year-wise; and
- (c) whether  the  Government  is  taking  any  measures  to  prevent  such  violation  of  rules  by  the  ecommerce  companies  operating  in  the  country,  if  so,  the  details  thereof  and  if  not,  the  reasons therefor?

## ANSWER

## miHkksDrk ekeys] [kk| vkSj lkoZtfud forj.k jkT; ea=h (श्री अश्विनी क ु मार चौबे)

## THE MINISTER OF STATE CONSUMER AFFAIRS, FOOD AND PUBLIC DISTRIBUTION (SHRI ASHWINI KUMAR CHOUBEY)

(a) to (c)    : In  order  to  protect  the  rights  of  consumers  as  a  class,  the  Central  Consumer  Protection Authority (CCPA) has issued Notices to such e-commerce entities which were found to be selling pressure cookers  in  violation  to  Domestic  Pressure  Cooker  (Quality  Control)  Order,  2020,  under  which  Central Government has directed conformity to standard and compulsory use of standard mark to prevent risk of injury or harm to consumers. So far, 15 notices have been sent to e-commerce entities and sellers found to be selling non-standard pressure cookers online.

To  ensure  conformity  to  standard  and  protect  consumers  from  sub-standard  goods,  Central Government is empowered to direct compulsory use of standard mark under Section 16(1) of BIS Act, 2016.  The  directions  are  generally  published  in  form  of  Quality  Control  Orders  (QCOs).  The  QCO  for Domestic Pressure Cooker came into force on 1 st February, 2021 and QCO for Helmets came into force on 1 st June, 2021.

BIS has also issued 3 notices for violation of Quality Control Order for Pressure Cookers and 2 notices for violation of Quality Control Order for Helmets.

As against violations of mandatory declarations under the Legal Metrology Act 2009 and the rules made  thereunder  like  country  of  origin,  expiry  date  etc,  305  total  cases  have  been  booked  for  various violations from 16.10.2020 to 03.02.2022, as tabulated below:

| Category of grievance                              |   Number of cases |
|----------------------------------------------------|-------------------|
| Country of origin                                  |               281 |
| Expiry Date / Best Before                          |                 7 |
| Manufacturer / Importer's Complete Address details |                 7 |
| Charged More than MRP                              |                 7 |
| (Non Standard Units)                               |                 1 |
| No declaration of MRP                              |                 1 |
| Net Quantity                                       |                 1 |
| Total                                              |               305 |

So  far, 90  companies  have  compounded  their  offences  and  the  total  amount  collected  from compounding is Rs 49,95,500/-

During 2019, 2020 and 2021, 4716, 3713 and 2996 cases were respectively booked for violations related to declaration, including Country of Origin by the State Governments.

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