The Centre has asked state governments to provide a detailed report on e-commerce firms printing details like expiry date, best before use and customer care contact information on pre-packaged goods, a senior Consumer Affairs Ministry official said today.
From January 1, e-commerce companies have been mandated to comply with new declaration norms for packaged goods except for medicines as perthe Legal Metrology (Packaged Commodities) Amendment Rules, 2017.
At present, only MRP is printed on the goods sold online.
"We have written to state governments to submit a status report on implementation of new declaration norms by the e-commerce firms," the official told PTI.
Companies like Amazon, Flipkart and Snapdeal are complying with the new declaration rules. However, the states have been asked to give a detailed report, the official said.
There are thousands of e-commerce portals in the country. Some of them have uploaded the new rules on their websites and asked sellers to follow them strictly, the official added.
Besides MRP, e-commerce companies have to declare country of origin, best before use by date, consumer care detail, net quantity, name and address of manufacturer and importer and name of the commodity among others.
The official said the violation of the norms would lead to penalty as stated in the section 36 of the Legal Metrology Act and Rules.
For the first time violation, the penalty is up to Rs 25,000 and for the second time violation the fine is up to Rs 50,000 and for the subsequent offence the fine is up to Rs 1 lakh or imprisonment for an year or with both, the official added.
The changes come in the backdrop of e-marketplaces posing new and complex consumer protection issues with the ministry receiving several complaints as regard to information deficit on online products/goods.
Flipkart, Amazon India, Snapdeal, Grofers and Bigbasket are some of the leading e-marketplaces entities operating in the country.
Disclaimer: No Business Standard Journalist was involved in creation of this content
