Lok Sabha Question No. 2943 (UNSTARRED), answered on 2025-12-17
Subject: Unfair Trade Practices
Ministry: CONSUMER AFFAIRS, FOOD AND PUBLIC DISTRIBUTION
Asked by: Shri Naveen Jindal

## Government of India

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

## LOK SABHA UNSTARRED QUESTION NO. 2943 TO BE ANSWERED ON 17.12.2025

## UNFAIR TRADE PRACTICES

## 2943.  SHRI NAVEEN JINDAL:

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

- (a) the details of the specific steps taken by the Government to address growing concerns about unfair trade  practices  including  the  sale  of  fake  or  substandard  goods,  fraudulent  activities  and  dark patterns in the e-commerce sector;
- (b) whether the Government laid down any guidelines to make e-commerce platforms responsible for the  authenticity  of  products  sold  by  third-party  sellers  on  their  platforms  and  if  so,  the  details thereof; and
- (c) the details of the number of complaints against e-commerce companies that have been received on the  National  Consumer  Helpline  (NCH)  during  the  last  three  years,  year-wise  along  with  the resolution rate?

## 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 protection and empowerment of consumers by enactment of progressive legislations. Under the provisions of the Consumer Protection Act, 2019,  the  Central  Consumer  Protection  Authority  (CCPA)  is  empowered  to  intervene  for  preventing consumer detriment arising from unfair trade practices through issuance of guidelines and class action(s), including   the   enforcement   of  recalls,  refunds and return of products. It has the mandate to prevent and regulate false or misleading advertisements which are prejudicial to the public interest.

To safeguard consumers from unfair trade practices in e-commerce, the Department of Consumer Affairs has also 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.

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; (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 state 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.

Central Consumer Protection Authority, in exercise of the powers conferred by Section 18 of the Consumer Protection Act, 2019, issued 'Guidelines for Prevention and Regulation of Dark Patterns, 2023' on 30th November, 2023, 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.

In  furtherance,  Department  of  Consumer  Affairs  engaged  with  major  e-commerce  companies, industry associations, Voluntary Consumer Organizations, and National Law Universities for eliminating deceptive online practices.  As an outcome, 'Advisory in terms of Consumer Protection Act,2019 on SelfAudit 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  Central Consumer Protection Authority on 5 th June,2025 .  All E-Commerce platforms have been advised to take necessary steps to ensure that their platforms  do  not  engage  in  such  deceptive  and  unfair  trade  practices  which  are  in  the  nature  of  Dark Patterns.  Further, all E-Commerce platforms have been advised to conduct self-audits to identify dark patterns, within three months of the issue of the advisory and give self-declarations that their platform is not indulging in any dark patterns. 26 leading e-commerce platforms have voluntarily submitted their self-declaration letters confirming compliance with the Guidelines for Prevention and Regulation of Dark Patterns, 2023.

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  prelitigation stage. The number of complaints against e-commerce companies that have been received on the National Consumer Helpline(NCH) during the last three years, year-wise alongwith the resolution rate is as below:

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| Year               |   Docket Registered E-Commerce Sector |   Docket Disposed E-Commerce Sector |
|--------------------|---------------------------------------|-------------------------------------|
| 2022               |                                365370 |                              365370 |
| 2023               |                                446133 |                              446133 |
| 2024               |                                440187 |                              440187 |
| 2025 (Till Nov'25) |                                460376 |                              404220 |