After e-commerce rules announced, Indian govt to speed up redressal of complaints

According to foreign media reports, in July last year , the Indian government announced new regulations for criminal action against e-commerce companies. This year, the number of complaints has decreased and has been corrected quickly.

Under the new rules, e-commerce businesses will have to display specific details such as maximum retail price, expiry date, country of origin, refund and return details, warranty and guarantees, delivery and shipment, and any other information a consumer might need to make an informed decision.

Briefing the media, Nidhi Khare, chief commissioner of the Central Consumer Protection Authority ( CCPA), said: “ Earlier, most of the complaints against e-commerce companies were not redressed , but after the e-commerce rules were announced , the number of complaints has come down and in fact redressal is happening faster. ”

However, she did not reveal which e-commerce companies were faster in resolving consumer complaints. However, she said, “ Large multinational e-commerce companies have started tracking at least six claims of a product , such as MRP, expiry date and country of origin.”

Khare said that after the rules were introduced, the ministry has taken up with the Quality Council of India (QCI) to check e-commerce platforms for violations of the new norms. Based on the QCI assessment, the government has issued show-cause notices to companies found violating the new rules.

The new regulations have already had a big impact, with the CCPA issuing 37 show-cause notices to e-commerce companies and online travel portals , in addition to companies involved in water purifiers, paints, floor cleaners, apparel, cement, and furniture .

Additionally, the newly created regulatory agency CCPA has begun analyzing consumers’ class-action complaints .

Director General of the Department of Consumer Affairs Leena Nandan, who was also present at the meeting , said the highest number of complaints were about e-commerce transactions, followed by banking, telecom, electronics and consumer durables.

Besides e-commerce related complaints, CCPA also requires insurance and telecom regulators to address consumer complaints on portability, network, broadband related issues, while RBI is asked to adhere to a timeline for claims settlement.

The National Consumer Helpline (NCH) has registered around 188,262 consumer complaints against e-commerce companies till February this year and companies are now being encouraged to resolve these complaints centrally with the NCH .

So far, 647 companies from different sectors have merged with NCH and registration of consumer complaints is growing every year .

Under the epidemic, India's e-commerce industry has experienced explosive growth. In order to strictly control the market and protect the interests of consumers, the government has tightened policies and made the responsibilities of sellers and platforms clearer. Sellers must strictly abide by the rules, eliminate violations, and succeed in the fierce competition.

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