Lok Sabha Question No. 2819 (UNSTARRED), answered on 2025-08-06
Subject: Complaints against Online/e-Commerce Companies
Ministry: CONSUMER AFFAIRS, FOOD AND PUBLIC DISTRIBUTION
Asked by: Shri Murari Lal Meena

## Government of India

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

## LOK SABHA UNSTARRED QUESTION NO. 2819 TO BE ANSWERED ON 06.08.2025

## COMPLAINTS AGAINST ONLINE/E-COMMERCE COMPANIES

2819.  SHRI MURARI LAL MEENA: (OIH)

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

- (a) whether  the  Government  has  received  complaints  against  various  online  and  e-commerce companies  for  selling  fake  or  substandard  goods  to  their  customers,  if  so,  the  number  of complaints received across the country along with their categories during the last three years (2022-2025);
- (b) the name of the States or cities which had the highest seizure of fake goods during the last three years;
- (c) the details of legal and policy measures taken by the Government to address this problem, so far;
- (d) whether the Government has issued any strict guidelines for e-commerce platforms making them responsible for the authenticity of the goods being sold by sellers on their platforms and if so, the details thereof;
- (e) whether any steps like monitoring mechanisms, consumer helplines or awareness campaigns at local level have been implemented in Rajasthan to protect consumers from fake products; and
- (f) if so, the details thereof?

## ANSWER

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

- (a)   :   The data of grievances related to sale of spurious/ fake/ duplicate and counterfeit products in ecommerce sector registered on the National Consumer Helpline is given at Annexure .
- (b)  : Since FY 2024-25, BIS has carried out a total of 22 search and seizure operations at warehouses associated with e-commerce platforms. These include three search and seizure operations each in the states  of  Delhi,  Haryana,  Karnataka,  and  Maharashtra;  two  search  and  seizure  operations  each  in Rajasthan and Tamil Nadu; and one search and seizure operation each in Gujarat, Odisha, Telangana, Uttar Pradesh, Andhra Pradesh and Uttarakhand.
- (c) to (f) : 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  ecommerce entities, including provisions for consumer grievance redressal.

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

(i) 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.

(ii) 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.

Further, 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  30th November, 2023 for prevention  and  regulation  of  dark  patterns  listing  13  specified  dark  patterns identified  in  e-Commerce  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 5th June, 2025.

The CCPA has also notified the Guidelines for Prevention of Misleading Advertisements and Endorsements for Misleading Advertisements, 2022 on 9th June, 2022. These guidelines inter-alia provide for;

(i) conditions for an advertisement to be non-misleading and valid;

(ii) certain stipulations in respect of bait advertisements and free claim advertisements; and,

(iii) 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  is  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 is also taken against  the  sale  of  domestic  pressure  cookers  that  do  not  meet  compulsory  BIS  standards  on  ecommerce 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 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 practices 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). Also, 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.

Further, 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 on  a  dedicated  National  Helpline  run  under  the  aegis  of  Department  of  Consumer  Affairs.  These grievances  can  be  registered  on  Integrated  Grievance  Redressal  Mechanism  (INGRAM),  an  omnichannel  IT  enabled  central  portal,  through  various  channels-  WhatsApp  (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.  1,110 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.

The  technological  transformation  of  the  NCH  has  significantly  boosted  its  call-handling capacity. The number of calls received by NCH has grown more than tenfold, from 12,553 in December 2015  to  1,55,138  in  December  2024.  This  exponential  growth  reflects  the  rising  confidence  of consumers in the helpline. Similarly, the average number of complaints registered per month has surged from 37,062 in 2017 to 1,11,951 in 2024. 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.

ANNEXURE  REFERRED  IN  REPLY  TO  PART  (a)  OF  LOK  SABHA  UNSTARRED QUESTION  NO.  2819  DUE  FOR  ANSWER  ON  06/08/2025  REGARDING  COMPLAINTS AGAINST ONLINE/E-COMMERCE COMPANIES.

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Grievances related to sale of spurious/ fake/ duplicate and counterfeit products in e-commerce sector registered on the National Consumer Helpline (NCH)

## Year-wise:

| S. No.      | Year                      |   Count |
|-------------|---------------------------|---------|
| 1           | 2022                      |    3133 |
| 2           | 2023                      |    2211 |
| 3           | 2024                      |    4997 |
| 4           | 2025 (Jan.'25 ~ June.'25) |    7221 |
| Grand Total | Grand Total               |   17562 |

## State-wise:

|   S. No. | State/UT          |   2022 |   2023 |   2024 |   2025 (Jan.'25 ~ June.'25) |   Grand Total |
|----------|-------------------|--------|--------|--------|-----------------------------|---------------|
|        1 | Uttar Pradesh     |    406 |    272 |    618 |                        1039 |          2335 |
|        2 | Maharashtra       |    401 |    228 |    566 |                         637 |          1832 |
|        3 | Delhi             |    285 |    207 |    447 |                         512 |          1451 |
|        4 | Rajasthan         |    233 |    152 |    351 |                         531 |          1267 |
|        5 | Karnataka         |    178 |    153 |    342 |                         519 |          1192 |
|        6 | West Bengal       |    212 |    143 |    354 |                         443 |          1152 |
|        7 | Gujarat           |    218 |    128 |    298 |                         454 |          1098 |
|        8 | Bihar             |    173 |    120 |    272 |                         460 |          1025 |
|        9 | Madhya Pradesh    |    124 |     86 |    200 |                         421 |           831 |
|       10 | Haryana           |    157 |    108 |    218 |                         343 |           826 |
|       11 | Tamil Nadu        |     88 |     99 |    199 |                         430 |           816 |
|       12 | Telangana         |    119 |     83 |    215 |                         247 |           664 |
|       13 | Kerala            |     77 |     95 |    219 |                         240 |           631 |
|       14 | Andhra Pradesh    |    113 |     64 |    138 |                         161 |           476 |
|       15 | Punjab            |     80 |     57 |    110 |                         136 |           383 |
|       16 | Odisha            |     51 |     57 |     98 |                         139 |           345 |
|       17 | Jharkhand         |     49 |     37 |     81 |                         115 |           282 |
|       18 | Chhattisgarh      |     31 |     18 |     60 |                          80 |           189 |
|       19 | Uttrakhand        |     34 |     20 |     49 |                          78 |           181 |
|       20 | Assam             |     29 |     23 |     41 |                          63 |           156 |
|       21 | Jammu &Kashmir    |     20 |     18 |     33 |                          56 |           127 |
|       22 | Himachal Pradesh  |     21 |     20 |     26 |                          39 |           106 |
|       23 | Goa               |      8 |     12 |     16 |                          11 |            47 |
|       24 | Chandigarh        |     12 |      4 |     15 |                          14 |            45 |
|       25 | Tripura           |      5 |      2 |     11 |                           7 |            25 |
|       26 | Puducherry        |      0 |      0 |      4 |                          17 |            21 |
|       27 | Manipur           |      3 |      1 |      4 |                           8 |            16 |
|       28 | Arunachal Pradesh |      0 |      1 |      6 |                           4 |            11 |

| 29          | Meghalaya           |    3 |    2 |    1 |    2 |     8 |
|-------------|---------------------|------|------|------|------|-------|
| 30          | Nagaland            |    0 |    0 |    0 |    7 |     7 |
| 31          | Sikkim              |    2 |    0 |    1 |    2 |     5 |
| 32          | Daman &Diu          |    1 |    0 |    1 |    1 |     3 |
| 33          | Dadra &Nagar Haveli |    0 |    0 |    3 |    0 |     3 |
| 34          | Andaman Nicobar     |    0 |    0 |    0 |    3 |     3 |
| 35          | Mizoram             |    0 |    1 |    0 |    1 |     2 |
| 36          | Ladakh              |    0 |    0 |    0 |    1 |     1 |
| Grand Total | Grand Total         | 3133 | 2211 | 4997 | 7221 | 17562 |

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