Amazon is being fined for not displaying mandatory product information

The government has fined e-commerce giant Amazon for failing to display mandatory information, including the country of origin, of products sold on its platform, according to an official order.

Last month, the Department of Consumer Affairs issued notices to e-commerce majors Flipkart and Amazon for failing to display such information.

The ministry has fined Bengaluru-based Amazon Seller Services and each of its directors under the provisions of the Legal Metrology Act 2009 and the Legal Metrology (Package Commodities) Rules 2011.

In the case of Flipkart, a senior ministry official said
PTI “The audit did not identify any violation and therefore no action was taken.”

According to the order of Ashutosh Agarwal, the ministry’s deputy director, Amazon Seller Services has admitted that the said information on products was not provided by the sellers on the e-commerce platform.

“In the absence of material evidence demonstrating that you exercised due diligence in fulfilling your duty as an intermediary, your company will also be held responsible for the said breach by default,” the Nov. 19 order said.

The ministry informed the company that in the case of the marketplace model of e-commerce, responsibility for the accuracy of the declarations is limited to the manufacturer/distributor/seller/importer, provided the e-commerce entity providing access to the communication system , meets certain specified conditions in the rules. Otherwise, the e-commerce company is also liable.

Therefore, failure to declare information required by the rules is a breach of the provisions of the Legal Metrology Act 2009 and the Legal Metrology (Package Commodities) Rules 2011, which is a criminal offence, it said.

In addition, the ministry also stated that if a satisfactory response was not received within seven days of receiving the order, it would be forced to institute criminal proceedings against the company and all of the company’s directors in a competent court without further notice.

An email to Amazon about this did not result in an immediate response.

In the notice issued last month, the Department of Consumer Affairs had stated: “It has been noted that some of the e-commerce businesses are not displaying the mandatory declaration on digital platforms required by the Legal Metrology (Packaged Goods) Regulations 2011 is .”

In similarly worded communications, the Ministry had announced that Flipkart India Pvt. ltd and Amazon Development Center India Pvt. ltd must ensure that all mandatory declarations are displayed on the digital and electronic network used for e-commerce transactions.

In July, the late former Secretary of Consumer Affairs Ram Vilas Paswan said state governments were ordered to strictly enforce the rule requiring businesses and e-commerce players to list the “country of origin” on all products.

Since January 2018, the determination of the country of origin declaration applies to all manufacturers, importers, packers and e-commerce players. The Department of Commerce has now been asked to ensure that e-commerce players also strictly adhere to this rule, he said.

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Whether a product is sold through an offline or online platform, the “country of origin” must also be provided, along with other details such as maximum retail price (MRP), expiry date, net quantity and consumer care details, he had said .

Also Read: E-Commerce Sites Must Declare “Country of Origin,” Says Center

In January 2018, the government amended the Legal Metrology (Packaged Commodities) Rules, 2011 to add a new provision requiring “country of origin” declaration for manufacturers, importers, packers and e-commerce businesses.

In June, the DPIIT asked e-commerce companies like Amazon and Flipkart for comments on including the “country of origin” on every product sold through their platforms.

This came amid calls for a boycott of Chinese goods following India-China border disputes in Ladakh.