Lok Sabha Question No. 250 (STARRED), answered on 2021-12-15
Subject: E-Commerce Companies
Ministry: CONSUMER AFFAIRS, FOOD AND PUBLIC DISTRIBUTION
Asked by: Ravneet Singh, Kirti Vardhan Singh

## Government of India

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

## LOK  SABHA

STARRED QUESTION NO. *250 TO BE ANSWERED ON 15.12.2021

## E-COMMERCE COMPANIES

*250.  SHRI RAVNEET SINGH BITTU: SHRI KIRTI VARDHAN SINGH:

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 came to light during the last three years, year-wise;

- (c) whether  the  Government  is  taking  any  measures  to  prevent  such  violation  of  rules  by  the  e- commerce companies operating in the country, if so, the details thereof and if not, the reasons therefor;

- (d) the  details  of  the  cases  of  damages  caused  to  life  and  property  because  of  the  use  of  these articles, State-wise and the punitive action taken against the erring companies; and

- (e) the steps taken by the Government to safeguard the interests of the consumers while dealing with e-retailers?

## ANSWER

## miHkksDrk ekeys] [kk| vkSj lkoZtfud forj.k ea=h ¼Jh ih;w"k xks;y½

THE MINISTER OF CONSUMER AFFAIRS, FOOD AND PUBLIC DISTRIBUTION (SHRI PIYUSH GOYAL)

(a) to (e)  :   A Statement is laid on the Table of the House.

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## STATEMENT REFERRED IN REPLY TO PARTS (a) TO (e) OF  LOK  SABHA  STARRED QUESTION NO.*250 FOR 15.12.2021 REGARDING E-COMMERCE COMPANIES.

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(a)  &  (b):  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 like country of origin,  expiry  date  etc.,  255  total  cases  have  been  booked  for  various  violations  from  16.10.20  to 09.12.2021, which are tabulated below :-

| Category of grievance                            |   Number of cases |
|--------------------------------------------------|-------------------|
| Country of origin                                |               233 |
| Expiry Date/Best Before                          |                 7 |
| Manufacturer/Importer's Complete Address details |                 7 |
| Charged More than MRP                            |                 5 |
| (Non-Standard Units)                             |                 1 |
| No declaration of MRP                            |                 1 |
| Net Quantity                                     |                 1 |
| Total                                            |               255 |

So  far,  80  companies  have  compounded  their  offences,  and  the  total  amount  collected  from compounding is Rs. 43,55,500.

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

(c) to (e) : For the purpose of preventing unfair trade practices in e-commerce, the Central Government notified the Consumer Protection (E-Commerce) Rules on 23 rd July, 2020. The rules cover all models of e-commerce including inventory and marketplace e-commerce entities. The rules stipulate duties of ecommerce entities including establishment of adequate grievance redressal mechanism and appointing a grievance  officer.  The  rules  further  specify  liabilities  of  marketplace  e-commerce  entities,  duties  of sellers on marketplace and duties and liabilities of inventory e-commerce entities.

Also, the Government has amended the Legal Metrology (Packaged Commodities) Rules 2011 vide  GSR  No  629  (E)  dated  23.06.2017  wherein  Rule  6  (10)  of  the  Legal  Metrology  (Packaged Commodities),  Rules,  2011  states  that:  "An  E-Commerce  entity  shall  ensure  that  the  mandatory declarations  as  specified  in  sub-rule  (1),  except  the  month  and  year  in  which  the  commodity  is manufactured or packed, shall be displayed on the digital and electronic network used for e-commerce transactions".  The  mandatory  declarations  include  name  &  address  of  the  manufacturer,  name  of  the country of origin, best before or use by date etc.

As part of celebrations of 75 years of Independence - 'Azadi ka Amrit Mahotsav', CCPA has initiated a country-wide campaign to prevent sale of spurious and counterfeit goods that violate Quality Control Orders (QCOs) published by the Central Government and raise awareness and consciousness among  consumers  to  purchase  goods  that  conform  to  BIS  Standards.  Daily  use  goods,  which  are commonly available in most households have been identified as part of the campaign. The identified goods are Helmets, Pressure Cookers and Cooking Gas Cylinders. Under the Consumer Protection Act, 2019, District Collectors are mandated to inquire into or investigate complaints regarding violations of rights of consumers as class. Accordingly, Central Consumer Protection Authority (CCPA) has written to District Collectors across the country to investigate unfair trade practices and violation of consumer rights concerning manufacture and sale of helmets, pressure cookers and cooking gas cylinders which do not conform to compulsory standards.

CCPA has also issued Safety Notice under the Section 18(2)(j) of the Consumer Protection Act cautioning consumers against purchasing Helmets, Pressure Cooker and Cooking Gas Cylinder without valid ISI mark, which has been widely circulated among Industry associations, consumer organizations and legal service authorities.

All  State  Governments/Union  Territory  Administrations  have  been  requested  to  undertake enforcement drives to prevent the manufacture, distribution, sale, storage, etc. of any such goods and articles, for which directions of compulsory use of Standard Mark have been published by the Central Government.

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