New Consumer Protection Act, 2019 is applicable in India from 20th July 2020. It is more friendly for the consumer and at the same time, came with more responsibilities, compliance and requirements for sellers, companies. There are separate Rules issued for the E-Commerce Companies under the Consumer Protection (E-Commerce) Rules, 2020.
Duties of E-Commerce Entities
(1) Every e-commerce entity shall provide the following information in a clear and accessible manner on its platform, displayed prominently to its users, namely:--
- legal name of the e-commerce entity;
- principal geographic address of its headquarters and all branches;
- name and details of its website; and
- contact details like e-mail address, fax, landline and mobile numbers of customer care as well as of grievance officer
(2) No e-commerce entity shall adopt any unfair trade practice, whether in the course of business on its platform or otherwise.
(3) Every e-commerce entity shall establish an adequate grievance redressal mechanism having regard to the number of grievances ordinarily received by such entity from India, and shall appoint a grievance officer for consumer grievance redressal, and shall display the name, contact details, and designation of such officer on its platform.
(4) Every e-commerce entity shall ensure that the grievance officer referred to in sub-rule (4) acknowledges the receipt of any consumer complaint within forty-eight hours and redresses the complaint within one month from the date of receipt of the complaint.
(5) Where an e-commerce entity offers imported goods or services for sale, it shall mention the name and details of any importer from whom it has purchased such goods or services, or who may be a seller on its platform.
(6) Every e-commerce entity shall endeavour on a best effort basis to become a partner in the convergence process of the National Consumer Helpline of the Central Government.
(7) No e-commerce entity shall impose cancellation charges on consumers cancelling after confirming purchase unless similar charges are also borne by the e- commerce entity, if they cancel the purchase order unilaterally for any reason.
(8) Every e-commerce entity shall only record the consent of a consumer for the purchase of any good or service offered on its platform where such consent is expressed through an explicit and affirmative action, and no such entity shall record such consent automatically, including in the form of pre-ticked check-boxes.
(9) Every e-commerce entity shall effect all payments towards accepted refund requests of the consumers as prescribed by the Reserve Bank of India or any other competent authority under any law for the time being in force within a reasonable period of time, or as prescribed under applicable laws.
(10) No e-commerce entity shall--
- manipulate the price of the goods or services offered on its platform in such a manner as to gain unreasonable profit by imposing on consumers any unjustified price having regard to the prevailing market conditions, the essential nature of the good or service, any extraordinary circumstances under which the good or service is offered, and any other relevant consideration in determining whether the price charged is justified;
- discriminate between consumers of the same class or make any arbitrary classification of consumers affecting their rights under the Act.
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