Lok Sabha Question No. 5415 (UNSTARRED), answered on 2026-03-25
Subject: Complaints against e-Commerce Platforms
Ministry: CONSUMER AFFAIRS, FOOD AND PUBLIC DISTRIBUTION
Asked by: Shri Shyamkumar Daulat Barve

## Government of India

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

## LOK SABHA UNSTARRED QUESTION NO. 5415

TO BE ANSWERED ON 25.03.2026

## COMPLAINTS AGAINST E-COMMERCE PLATFORMS

## 5415.  SHRI SHYAMKUMAR DAULAT BARVE:

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

- (a) whether it is a fact that in recent years there has been a significant increase in complaints regarding misleading advertisements, sale of counterfeit or  substandard products and consumer deception in the name of heavy discounts on e-commerce platforms;
- (b) if so, the details of total consumer complaints received during the last five years, their redressal, and actions taken against the defaulting companies, year, State/Union Territory and platform-wise;
- (c) whether  in  many  cases  consumers  are  not  provided  clear  information  regarding  the  actual  price, quality and warranty of products;
- (d) if so, whether the Government has reviewed these issues and considered enforcing strict guidelines or punitive measures for e-commerce companies and sellers; and
- (e) if so, the details of the concrete steps taken by the Government to protect the interests of consumers?

## ANSWER

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

(a) to (e) : The year-wise, State/UT-wise and mode-wise details of complaints received and disposed on the National Consumer  Helpline  (NCH)  regarding  misleading  advertisements  and  sale  of  counterfeit  or  substandard  products during the last five years are given at Annexure.

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 prelitigation stage for violation of rights of consumers, misleading advertisements and unfair trade practices. 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  omni-channel  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.  1,398 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.

The  National  Consumer  Helpline  (NCH)  has  successfully  facilitated  refund  of  ₹52  crore  to consumers between 25th April  2025  and  31st  January  2026.  This  significant  redressal  at  a  pre-litigation stage was achieved across 31 sectors (including 36.80 Crores with regard to the grievances pertaining to ecommerce sector), effectively addressing 79,521 consumer grievances related to refund claims.

The Department has notified the Consumer Protection (E-Commerce) Rules, 2020 on 23 July 2020 under  the  Consumer  Protection  Act,  2019  to  safeguard  consumers  from  unfair  trade  practices  in  the ecommerce sector. These Rules specify the duties of e-commerce entities, liabilities of marketplace entities, responsibilities of sellers on marketplaces and duties of inventory-based e-commerce entities.

Under these Rules, e-commerce entities are required to appoint a Grievance Officer and prominently display the name, designation and contact details of the officer on their platform. The grievance officer must acknowledge consumer complaints within 48 hours and redress them within one month from the date of receipt  of  the  complaint.  E-commerce  entities  are  also  required  to  endeavour  to  become  partners  in  the convergence  process  of  the  National  Consumer  Helpline  (NCH)  and  are  prohibited  from  discriminating between consumers of the same class or manipulating prices to gain unreasonable profits.

Marketplace  e-commerce  entities  are  required  to  obtain  undertakings  from  sellers  ensuring  that product descriptions, images and other content correspond accurately with the appearance, nature, quality and features of the goods or services. They must prominently publish details of sellers including business name,  geographic  address,  customer  care  contact  details,  ratings  and  feedback  along  with  complete information regarding return, refund, exchange, warranty, delivery, payment modes and grievance redressal mechanisms.  Sellers  are  also  required  to  ensure  that  advertisements  are  consistent  with  the  actual characteristics  and  usage  conditions  of  goods  or  services  and  are  prohibited  from  posting  misleading reviews or misrepresenting product features.

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 violation of rights of consumers, misleading advertisements, unfair trade practices etc. and to initiate class action(s), including the enforcement of recalls, refunds and return of products. As on 09.03.2026, CCPA has issued 477 notices of class action, imposed penalties amounting to ₹3,00,40,500 and closed 177 cases with receipt of penalties of ₹1,56,10,500.

CCPA has  taken  action  against  several  entities  for  violation  of  consumer  rights  and  unfair  trade practices in the e-commerce sector. Such actions include withdrawal of misleading advertisements relating to certain low-quality products marketed through online platforms, recall of products being sold in violation of mandatory quality standards and Quality Control Orders. Penal action has also been taken against entities for sale of products bearing spurious certification marks and misleading claims.

CCPA has taken action against the sale of domestic pressure cookers that do not meet compulsory BIS standards on e-commerce platforms. CCPA, for safeguarding consumer interests and their safety, issued directions  to  e-commerce platforms and their sellers to  recall  total  5507  non-ISI  mark  domestic  pressure cookers  sold  by  them.  CCPA  also  directed  sellers  of  e-commerce  platforms  to  recall  818  toys  and  also imposed penalties for the toys which were being sold on e-commerce platforms in violation to mandatory standards and QCO notified for toys.

CCPA  has  issued  Safety  Notices  under  Section  18(2)(j)  of  the  Consumer  Protection  Act,  2019 cautioning  consumers  against  purchase  of  goods  not  conforming  to  mandatory  safety  standards  which includes helmets, pressure cookers, cooking gas cylinders and certain household electrical appliances.

CCPA has issued an advisory dated 30th September, 2021 in terms of the Consumer Protection (ECommerce) Rules, 2020 regarding display of information provided by sellers on marketplace ecommerce platforms. The advisory, inter-alia, provides for ensuring that marketplace e-commerce entities display in a clear  and  accessible  manner  all  relevant  information  furnished  by  sellers  on  their  platforms,  including details  of  the  seller  and  grievance  officer,  so  as  to  safeguard  consumer  interests  and  facilitate  effective grievance redressal for consumers purchasing goods or services through e-commerce.

CCPA issued an advisory dated 14.07.2022 to e-commerce platforms regarding the online sale of certain Ayurvedic, Siddha and Unani medicines that contain ingredients listed in Schedule E(1) of the Drugs and  Cosmetics  Rules,  1945  which  may  include  potentially  hazardous  substances  and  therefore  must  be consumed only under medical supervision. Accordingly, e-commerce platforms have been advised to ensure that  such  drugs  are  sold  only  after  a  valid  prescription  from  a  registered  Ayurveda,  Siddha  or  Unani practitioner  is  uploaded  by  the  consumer  on  the  platform  to  prevent  unsafe  self-medication  and  protect consumers from potential health risks associated with unsupervised use of such medicines.

CCPA has notified the Guidelines for Prevention of Misleading Advertisements and Endorsements for Misleading Advertisements, 2022 on 9th June, 2022. These guidelines inter-alia provide for conditions for  an  advertisement  to  be  non-misleading  and  valid;  duties  of  manufacturer,  service  provider,  advertiser and advertising agency including on e-commerce platforms.

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.

An  'Advisory  for  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 also issued by the CCPA on 5th June, 2025. 29 leading e-commerce platforms have voluntarily submitted their self-declaration letters confirming compliance with the Guidelines for Prevention and Regulation of Dark Patterns, 2023.

CCPA has also notified Guidelines for the Prevention and Regulation of Illegal Listing and Sale of Radio Equipment including Walkie Talkies on E-Commerce Platforms, 2025. These guidelines have been notified to curb the unauthorized sale of wireless devices operating beyond the 446.0-446.2 MHz frequency band that may pose risks to consumer safety, mislead consumers regarding their legal position and interfere with critical communication networks, including those used by law enforcement and emergency services. Further,  the  CCPA  action  follows  the  identification  of  over  16,970  non-compliant  walkie-talkie  listings across  platforms  and  also  imposed  penalties  of  ₹10  lakh  each  on  Meesho,  Flipkart,  Amazon  and  Meta Platforms Inc, and ₹1 lakh each on Chimiya, JioMart, Talk Pro and MaskMan Toys.

CCPA has taken action against the sale of counterfeit and substandard goods on a major ecommerce platform for promotion and sale of counterfeit and spurious goods including medicines, cosmetics, beauty products  and  clothing  items,  misleading  display  of  MRPs  and  discounts  on  branded  products,  use  of misleading  labels  alongside  spurious  listings  and  facilitation  of  sale  of  Schedule-H  drugs  without prescription. The platform was directed to strengthen its due-diligence and monitoring mechanisms. As a result  of  these  regulatory  interventions,  the  platform  instituted  enhanced  internal  detection  and  filtering systems and reported large-scale removal of counterfeit listings from its platform. The company informed that  between  04  August  2022  and  05  June  2025,  a  total  of  1,21,31,880  product  listings  identified  as counterfeit  were  delisted  out  of  40,19,27,610  listings  uploaded,  including  69,63,556  counterfeit  listings removed during April 2023-September 2024 and 12,35,469 listings removed during September 2024-May 2025.

From 2020 till date, 997 notices have been issued by Legal Metrology, for violations of the Legal Metrology (Packaged Commodities) Rules, 2011, regarding non declaration of mandatory information such as country of origin, MRP, net quantity etc. resulting in compounding of Rs. 1.03 Crore under Section 48 of the Legal Metrology Act, 2009. These notices also include sale of unverified weighing scales/instruments on e-commerce platforms.

Aligned with global best practices, '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. This initiative strengthens consumer protection in the e-commerce. Various e-Commerce companies viz. Tata Digital, Tata 1mg, BigBasket, Tata Cliq, Chroma, Swiggy, Ola, Zomato, Ajio, JioMart, Netmeds, Meesho etc. have signed the Safety Pledge for ensuring consumer safety.

The  Bureau  of  Indian  Standards  (BIS)  has  notified  framework  on  'Online  Consumer  ReviewsPrinciples 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.

To protect the rights of consumers, the Central Government has mandated BIS certification for 635 products. Such products cannot be manufactured, sold, imported, stored or exhibited for sale without a valid BIS certification. Certification is granted after testing the conformity of products with the relevant Indian Standards. During the past two years, BIS has tested 209 samples purchased from e-commerce platforms to verify  their  conformity  with  the  relevant  Indian  Standards.  Out  of  these,  144  samples  were  found conforming to the Indian Standards.

During the past two years, BIS has conducted 79 search and seizure operations at the premises of ecommerce  warehouses,  sellers  operating  on  e-commerce  platforms  viz.  Amazon,  BigBasket,  Blinkit, Flipkart,  Meesho  and  Myntra.  These  operations  have  been  carried  out  across  various  States  including Andhra  Pradesh,  Delhi,  Gujarat,  Haryana,  Karnataka,  Kerala,  Madhya  Pradesh,  Maharashtra,  Odisha, Punjab, Rajasthan, Tamil Nadu, Telangana, Uttar Pradesh and Uttarakhand.

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ANNEXURE REFERRED TO IN REPLY TO PARTS (a) to (e) OF LOK SABHA UNSTARRED QUESTION NO.5415 FOR ANSWER ON 25.03.2026 REGARDING 'COMPLAINTS AGAINST ECOMMERCE PLATFORMS'.

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Year-wise,  State/UT-wise  and  Mode-wise  details  of  complaints  received  on  the  National  Consumer Helpline (NCH) regarding misleading advertisements and sale of counterfeit or substandard products during the last five years.

| S.   | State/UT                                 | 2021     | 2021      | 2022     | 2022     | 2023     | 2023     | 2024     | 2024      | 2025     | 2025      |
|------|------------------------------------------|----------|-----------|----------|----------|----------|----------|----------|-----------|----------|-----------|
| No.  | State/UT                                 | Received | Dispose d | Received | Disposed | Received | Disposed | Received | Dispose d | Received | Dispose d |
| 1.   | ANDAMAN AND NICOBAR ISLANDS              | 1        | 1         | 4        | 4        | 2        | 2        | 1        | 1         | 6        | 6         |
| 2.   | ANDHRA PRADESH                           | 53       | 53        | 202      | 202      | 362      | 362      | 312      | 312       | 426      | 426       |
| 3.   | ARUNACHAL PRADESH                        | 3        | 3         | 13       | 13       | 22       | 22       | 43       | 43        | 11       | 11        |
| 4.   | ASSAM                                    | 26       | 26        | 54       | 54       | 136      | 136      | 89       | 89        | 152      | 152       |
| 5    | BIHAR                                    | 81       | 81        | 354      | 354      | 548      | 548      | 474      | 474       | 914      | 914       |
| 6.   | CHANDIGARH                               | 7        | 7         | 19       | 19       | 34       | 34       | 36       | 36        | 39       | 39        |
| 7.   | CHHATTISGA RH                            | 16       | 16        | 58       | 58       | 85       | 85       | 92       | 92        | 163      | 163       |
| 8.   | DADRA AND NAGAR HAVELI AND DAMAN AND DIU | 0        | 0         | 9        | 9        | 4        | 4        | 6        | 6         | 6        | 6         |
| 9.   | DELHI                                    | 172      | 172       | 572      | 572      | 875      | 875      | 800      | 800       | 1142     | 1142      |
| 10.  | GOA                                      | 4        | 4         | 13       | 13       | 30       | 30       | 33       | 33        | 27       | 27        |
| 11.  | GUJARAT                                  | 106      | 106       | 317      | 317      | 568      | 568      | 517      | 517       | 1015     | 1015      |
| 12.  | HARYANA                                  | 109      | 109       | 347      | 347      | 556      | 556      | 437      | 437       | 721      | 721       |
| 13.  | HIMACHAL PRADESH                         | 17       | 17        | 35       | 35       | 62       | 62       | 51       | 51        | 96       | 96        |
| 14.  | JAMMU AND KASHMIR                        | 15       | 15        | 42       | 42       | 73       | 73       | 51       | 51        | 120      | 120       |
| 15.  | JHARKHAND                                | 25       | 25        | 122      | 122      | 153      | 153      | 161      | 161       | 273      | 273       |
| 16.  | KARNATAKA                                | 101      | 101       | 535      | 535      | 1114     | 1114     | 652      | 652       | 1150     | 1150      |
| 17.  | KERALA                                   | 50       | 50        | 235      | 235      | 472      | 472      | 460      | 460       | 589      | 589       |
| 18.  | LADAKH                                   | 0        | 0         | 0        | 0        | 0        | 0        | 1        | 1         | 8        | 8         |
| 19.  | LAKSHADWE EP                             | 0        | 0         | 0        | 0        | 0        | 0        | 0        | 0         | 0        | 0         |
| 20.  | MADHYA PRADESH                           | 88       | 88        | 293      | 293      | 468      | 468      | 395      | 395       | 782      | 782       |
| 21.  | MAHARASHT RA                             | 199      | 199       | 641      | 641      | 1275     | 1275     | 1010     | 1010      | 1628     | 1628      |
| 22.  | MANIPUR                                  | 0        | 0         | 7        | 7        | 6        | 6        | 5        | 5         | 14       | 14        |
| 23.  | MEGHALAYA                                | 0        | 0         | 10       | 10       | 6        | 6        | 6        | 6         | 5        | 5         |
| 24.  | MIZORAM                                  | 0        | 0         | 0        | 0        | 1        | 1        | 1        | 1         | 2        | 2         |
| 25.  | NAGALAND                                 | 3        | 3         | 2        | 2        | 3        | 3        | 0        | 0         | 12       | 12        |
| 26.  | ODISHA                                   | 24       | 24        | 139      | 139      | 272      | 272      | 196      | 196       | 312      | 312       |
| 27.  | PUDUCHERRY                               | 1        | 1         | 1        | 1        | 6        | 6        | 7        | 7         | 26       | 26        |
| 28.  | PUNJAB                                   | 46       | 46        | 159      | 159      | 214      | 214      | 205      | 205       | 330      | 330       |
| 29.  | RAJASTHAN                                | 152      | 152       | 477      | 477      | 692      | 692      | 558      | 558       | 1104     | 1104      |
| 30.  | SIKKIM                                   | 0        | 0         | 6        | 6        | 5        | 5        | 6        | 6         | 12       | 12        |

|   31. | TAMIL NADU    |   46 |   46 |   178 |   178 |   330 |   330 |   295 |   295 |   902 |   902 |
|-------|---------------|------|------|-------|-------|-------|-------|-------|-------|-------|-------|
|    32 | TELANGANA     |   45 |   45 |   198 |   198 |   439 |   439 |   376 |   376 |   581 |   581 |
|    33 | TRIPURA       |    0 |    0 |     8 |     8 |    15 |    15 |    20 |    20 |    17 |    17 |
|    34 | UTTAR PRADESH |  219 |  219 |   818 |   818 |  1537 |  1537 |  1165 |  1165 |  2186 |  2186 |
|    35 | UTTARAKHA ND  |   25 |   25 |    68 |    68 |   132 |   132 |   126 |   126 |   195 |   195 |
|    36 | WEST BENGAL   |   89 |   89 |   420 |   420 |   892 |   892 |   636 |   636 |  1080 |  1080 |

| S.No.   | Mode Wise   | 2021     | 2021     | 2022     | 2022     | 2023     | 2023     | 2024     | 2024     | 2025     | 2025     |
|---------|-------------|----------|----------|----------|----------|----------|----------|----------|----------|----------|----------|
|         |             | Received | Disposed | Received | Disposed | Received | Disposed | Received | Disposed | Received | Disposed |
| 1.      | By Web      | 772      | 772      | 3304     | 3304     | 5585     | 5585     | 3030     | 3030     | 3993     | 3993     |
| 2.      | By Phone    | 206      | 206      | 893      | 893      | 1172     | 1172     | 1749     | 1749     | 6969     | 6969     |
| 3.      | NCHAPP      | 546      | 546      | 1774     | 1774     | 3589     | 3589     | 2429     | 2429     | 961      | 961      |
| 4.      | WhatsAPP    | 0        | 0        | 0        | 0        | 713      | 713      | 1773     | 1773     | 3437     | 3437     |
| 5.      | UMANG       | 81       | 81       | 351      | 351      | 277      | 277      | 147      | 147      | 117      | 117      |
| 6.      | SMS         | 12       | 12       | 5        | 5        | 16       | 16       | 28       | 28       | 187      | 187      |
| 7.      | Others      | 106      | 106      | 29       | 29       | 37       | 37       | 67       | 67       | 382      | 382      |

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