The government has announced new rules for e-commerce companies, including requiring the “country of origin” to be displayed on their products, and said any non-compliance will face criminal prosecution.
The “Consumer Protection (E-Commerce) Rules, 2020” were notified on Thursday. The new rules apply to all electronic retailers (e-tailers) registered in India or abroad but offering goods and services to Indian consumers.
Breach of the rules will be prosecuted under the Consumer Protection Act 2019.
Under the new rules, e-commerce players must display the total price of goods and services offered for sale along with a breakdown of other fees.
You must also indicate the “expiry date” of the goods offered for sale and the “country of origin” of the goods and services, which are necessary to allow the consumer to make an informed decision at the pre-purchase stage.
The rules require e-commerce players to show details about returns, refunds, exchanges, warranties and guarantees, delivery and shipping, and any other information consumers might need to make informed decisions.
Sellers offering goods and services through a marketplace e-commerce entity must provide the above details to the e-commerce entity in order for them to be displayed on their platform or website.
Under the new rules, e-commerce companies should not impose “cancellation fees” on consumers who cancel orders after confirmation, unless sellers are willing to pay similar fees if the order cancellation occurs on their part.
Nor may they “manipulate” the price of the goods and services offered on their platforms for the purpose of improper profit and discriminate against same-class consumers or engage in arbitrary classification of consumers that adversely affects their rights under the law.
In addition, e-commerce businesses must provide information about available payment methods, the security of those payment methods, any fees or charges payable by users, and the contact information of the relevant payment service provider, among other things.
Aside from that, e-commerce businesses are required to clearly display to their users details about the “vendors” offering goods and services, including the name of their company, whether registered or not. The new rules also require them to show the seller’s geographic address, customer service number, and any ratings or other collected feedback about that seller, among other things.
You must also provide a ticket number for each complaint submitted, which the consumer can use to track the status of the complaint.
However, the new rules do not allow any inventory e-commerce business to “falsely impersonate a consumer and post reviews about goods and services, or misrepresent the quality or characteristics of goods and services.”
Inventory e-commerce entities must also ensure that advertising for the marketing of goods and services is consistent with the actual characteristics, conditions of access and use of those goods or services.
Under the new rules, no existing e-commerce business may refuse to accept returns of goods or withdraw or discontinue services purchased or agreed upon, subject, among other things, to various conditions.
On July 20, Consumer Protection Minister Leena Nandan said the rules were finalized under the aegis of the Commerce Ministry after receiving input from the Ministry to Promote Industry and Domestic Trade so that they do not violate general e-commerce policy.
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