Lok Sabha Question No. 1646 (UNSTARRED), answered on 2025-07-30
Subject: Strengthening Consumer Protection in e-Commerce
Ministry: CONSUMER AFFAIRS, FOOD AND PUBLIC DISTRIBUTION
Asked by: Shri Bhartruhari Mahtab

## Government of India

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

## LOK SABHA

## UNSTARRED QUESTION NO. 1646 TO BE ANSWERED ON 30.07.2025

## STRENGTHENING CONSUMER PROTECTION IN E-COMMERCE

1646.  SHRI BHARTRUHARI MAHTAB:

Will the Minister of CONSUMER AFFAIRS, FOOD AND PUBLIC DISTRIBUTION be pleased to state:

- (a) whether the Government is aware of the rampant violation of consumer rights by the ecommerce entities;
- (b) if so, details thereof; and
- (c) the  details  of  the  steps  taken  by  the  Government  to  protect  the  interest  of  consumers  in  the  ecommerce?

## ANSWER

## THE MINISTER OF STATE CONSUMER AFFAIRS, FOOD AND PUBLIC DISTRIBUTION (SHRI B.L.VERMA)

(a)  to  (c)  :  Department  of  Consumer  Affairs  is  continuously  working  for  consumer  protection  and empowerment  of  consumers  by  enactment  of  progressive  legislations.  With  a  view  to  modernize  the framework governing the consumer protection in the new era of globalization, technologies, e-commerce markets  etc.  Consumer  Protection  Act,  1986  was  repealed  and  Consumer  Protection  Act,  2019  was enacted.

Salient  features  of  the  new  Consumer  Protection  Act,  2019  are  establishment  of  a  Central Consumer  Protection  Authority(CCPA);  simplification  of  the  adjudication  process  in  the  Consumer Commissions such as enhancing pecuniary jurisdiction of the Consumer Commissions, online filing of complaint from the Consumer Commission having jurisdiction over the place of work/residence of the consumer irrespective of the place of transaction, videoconferencing for hearing, deemed admissibility of complaints if admissibility is not decided within 21 days of filing; provision of product liability; penal provisions for manufacture/sale of adulterated products/spurious goods; provision for making rules for prevention of unfair trade practice in e-commerce and direct selling.

The Consumer Protection Act, 2019 provides for a three tier quasi-judicial machinery at District, State and National level commonly known as 'Consumer Commissions' for protection of the rights of consumers and to provide simple and speedy redressal of consumer disputes including those related with unfair trade practices. The Consumer Commissions are empowered to give relief of a specific nature and award compensation to consumers, wherever appropriate.

The National Consumer Helpline (NCH) administered by the Department of Consumer Affairs has emerged as a single point of access to consumers across the country for their grievance redressal at a pre-litigation stage. Consumers can register their grievances from all over the country in 17 languages including  Hindi,  English,  Kashmiri,  Punjabi,  Nepali,  Gujarati,  Marathi,  Kannada,  Telugu,  Tamil, Malayalam, Maithili, Santhali, Bengali, Odia, Assamese and Manipuri through a toll-free number 1915. These grievances can be registered on Integrated Grievance Redressal Mechanism (INGRAM), an omnichannel IT enabled central portal, through various channelsWhatsApp (8800001915),  SMS (8800001915), email (nch-ca@gov.in), the NCH app, the web portal (consumerhelpline.gov.in) and the Umang app, as per their convenience.  1110 companies, who have voluntarily partnered with NCH, as part of the 'Convergence' programme directly respond to these grievances according to their redressal process and revert by providing a feedback to the complainant on the portal. Complaints against those companies, who have not partnered with National Consumer Helpline, are forwarded to the company for redressal.

To  safeguard  the  interests  of  consumers  from  unfair  trade  practices  in  e-commerce,  the Department of Consumer Affairs has notified the Consumer Protection (E-commerce) Rules, 2020 under the provisions of the Consumer Protection Act, 2019. These rules, inter-alia, outline the responsibilities of  e-commerce  entities  and  specify  the  liabilities  of  marketplace  and  inventory  e-commerce  entities, including provisions for consumer grievance redressal.

In terms of the provisions of these rules, no e-commerce entity shall

- a) manipulate the price of the goods or services offered on its platform in such a manner as to gain unreasonable  profit  by  imposing  on  consumers  any  unjustified  price  having  regard  to  the prevailing  market  conditions,  the  essential  nature  of  the  good  or  service,  any  extraordinary circumstances under which the good or service is offered, and any other relevant consideration in determining whether the price charged is justified.
- b) Discriminate  between  the  consumers  of  the  same  class  or  make  any  arbitrary  classification  of consumers affecting their rights under the Act.

These rules also provide that no e-commerce entity shall adopt any unfair trade practice, whether in the course of business on its platform or otherwise.

A  'Safety  Pledge'  has  been  finalized,  in  consultation  with  all  the  stakeholders,  which  is  a voluntary public  commitment of e-Commerce platforms to ensure the safety of goods sold online and respect  the  consumer  rights.  Aligned  with  global  best  practices,  this  initiative  strengthens  consumer protection in the e-commerce. On the National Consumer Day 2024, 13 major e-Commerce companies including Reliance Retail group, Tata sons group, Zomato, Ola, Swiggy etc. signed the Safety Pledge for ensuring consumer safety.

Under  the  provisions  of  the  Consumer  Protection  Act,  2019,  the  Central  Consumer  Protection Authority (CCPA), an executive agency, came into existence on 24.07.2020. It is designed to intervene, to prevent consumer detriment arising from unfair trade practices and to initiate class action(s), including the enforcement of recalls, refunds and return of products. Its core mandate is to prevent and regulate false or misleading advertisements which are prejudicial to the public interest.

The CCPA, in exercise of the powers conferred by Section 18 of the Consumer Protection Act, 2019, has issued 'Guidelines for Prevention and Regulation of Dark Patterns, 2023' on 30 th  November, 2023  for  prevention  and  regulation  of  dark  patterns  listing  13  specified  dark  patterns  identified  in  eCommerce sector. These dark patterns include false urgency, Basket Sneaking, Confirm shaming, forced action, Subscription trap, Interface Interference, Bait and switch, Drip Pricing, Disguised Advertisements, Nagging, Trick Wording, Saas Billing and Rogue Malwares. Further, an 'Advisory in terms of Consumer Protection Act, 2019 on Self-Audit by E-Commerce Platforms for detecting the Dark Patterns on their platforms to create a fair, ethical and consumer centric digital ecosystem' was issued by the CCPA on 5 th June, 2025.

The  CCPA  has  also  notified  the  Guidelines  for  Prevention  of  Misleading  Advertisements  and Endorsements for Misleading Advertisements, 2022 on 9 th June, 2022. These guidelines inter-alia provide for; (a) conditions for an advertisement to be non-misleading and valid; (b) certain stipulations in respect of bait advertisements and free claim advertisements; and, (c) duties of manufacturer, service provider, advertiser and advertising agency. These guidelines states that due diligence is required for endorsement of advertisements such that any endorsement in an advertisement must reflect the genuine, reasonably current opinion of the individual, group or organisation making such representation and must be based on adequate  information  about  or  experience  with,  the  identified  goods,  product  or  service  and  must  not otherwise be deceptive.

Action  has  already  been  taken  by  the  CCPA  against  various  entities  including  e-commerce platforms  for  affecting  consumers,  as  a  class,  for  violation  of  consumer  rights,  false  and  misleading advertisements and unfair trade practices as defined under the Consumer Protection Act, 2019. Action has  also  been  taken  against  the  sale  of  domestic  pressure  cookers  that  do  not  meet  compulsory  BIS standards  on  e-commerce  platforms.  Additionally,  as  per  CCPA's  directions,  travel  companies  have refunded Rs. 1,454 Crores to consumers for cancelled flights due to the Covid-19 lockdown. CCPA has also mandated that these companies update their websites with clear instructions and status updates on refund claims related to cancelled tickets. Further, 13,118 listings of car seat belt alarm stopper clips have been delisted from major e-commerce platforms based on the Orders passed by CCPA to delist all such products which violate consumer rights and are unfair trade practice under the Consumer Protection Act, 2019 as  the  sale  or  marketing  of  said  product compromises  with  the  life  and  safety  of  consumer  by stopping  alarm  beep  when  not  wearing  seat  belts.  Also,  subsequent  to  CCPA's  intervention,  an  ecommerce platform discontinued the practice of automatically adding Rs. 1 per ticket  towards charity contribution in the ticket (a form of Basket Sneaking dark pattern), in the form of pre-tick format (a form of forced consent dark pattern). An airline modified the manner in which it used to offer insurance at the time of purchase of tickets (a form of confirm shaming dark pattern).

Further to strengthen consumer protection, the CCPA enacted the Guidelines for Prevention and Regulation of Greenwashing and Misleading Environmental Claims, 2024 (effective 15th October 2024), mandating  transparency  in  environmental  claims  and  the  Guidelines  for  Prevention  of  Misleading Advertisements in the Coaching Sector, 2024 (effective 13th November 2024), addressing false claims, exaggerated success rates and unfair practices in coaching institutes.

Also,  the  Bureau  of  Indian  Standards  (BIS)  has  notified  framework  on  'Online  Consumer Reviews - Principles and Requirements for their Collection, Moderation and Publication' on 23.11.2022 for safeguarding and protecting consumer interest from fake and deceptive reviews in e-commerce. The standards are voluntary and are applicable to every online platform which publishes consumer reviews. The  guiding principles of the standard are integrity, accuracy, privacy, security, transparency, accessibility and responsiveness.

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