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Consumer Protection (E-Commerce) Rules, 2020
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In exercise of the powers conferred by
sub-clause (zg) of sub-section (1) of Section 101 of the Consumer Protection
Act, 2019 (Act 35 of 2019), the Central Government hereby makes the following
rules, namely:—
1. Short title and commencement.—(1) These rules may
be called the Consumer Protection (E-Commerce) Rules, 2020.
(2) They shall come into force on the date of
their publication in the Official Gazette.
2. Scope and Applicability.—(1) Save as
otherwise expressly provided by the Central Government by notification, these
rules shall apply to:
(a)
all goods and services bought or sold over digital or electronic network
including digital products;
(b)
all models of e-commerce, including marketplace and inventory models of
e-commerce;
(c)
all e-commerce retail, including multi-channel single brand retailers and
single brand retailers in single or multiple formats; and
(d)
all forms of unfair trade practices across all models of e-commerce:
Provided
that these rules shall not apply to any activity of a natural person carried
out in a personal capacity not being part of any professional or commercial
activity undertaken on a regular or systematic basis.
(2) Notwithstanding anything contained in
sub-rule (1), these rules shall apply to a e-commerce entity which is not
established in India, but systematically offers goods or services to consumers
in India.
3. Definitions.—(1) In these rules
unless the context otherwise requires, —
(a)
“Act” means the Consumer Protection Act, 2019 (Act 35 of 2019);
(b)
“e-commerce entity” means any person who owns, operates or manages digital or
electronic facility or platform for electronic commerce, but does not include a
seller offering his goods or services for sale on a marketplace e-commerce
entity;
(c)
“grievance” includes any complaints to an e-commerce entity regarding
violations of the provisions of the Act and the rules made thereunder;
(d)
“GSTIN” means the Goods and Services Tax Identification Number as under the
Central Goods and Services Tax Act, 2017 (Act 12 of 2017);
(e)
“information” shall have the same meaning as to it clause (v) of sub-section
(1) of Section 2 of the Information Technology Act, 2000 (Act 21 of 2000);
(f)
“inventory e-commerce entity” means an e-commerce entity which owns the
inventory of goods or services and sells such goods or services directly to the
consumers and shall include single brand retailers and multi-channel single
brand retailers;
(g)
“marketplace e-commerce entity” means an e-commerce entity which provides an
information technology platform on a digital or electronic network to
facilitate transactions between buyers and sellers;
(h)
“PAN” means Permanent Account Number as under Section 139-A of the Income Tax
Act, 1961 (Act 43 of 1961);
(i)
“platform” means an online interface in the form of any software including a
website or a part thereof and applications including mobile applications;
(j)
“ranking” means the relative prominence or relevance given to the goods or
services offered through a marketplace e-commerce entity as presented,
organised or communicated by such entity, irrespective of the technological
means used for such presentation, organisation or communication;
(k)
“seller” means the product seller as defined in clause (37) of Section 2 of the
Act and shall include any service provider;
(1) “user” means any person who accesses or
avails any computer resource of an e-commerce entity.
(2) The words and expressions used herein and
not defined, but defined in the Act or in the Information Technology Act, 2000
(Act 21 of 2000) or the rules made thereunder shall have the same meaning as
respectively assigned to them in those Acts or rules.
4. Duties of e-commerce entities.—
(1) An e-commerce entity shall:
(a)
be a company incorporated under the Companies Act, 1956 (Act 1 of 1956) or the
Companies Act, 2013 (Act 18 of 2013) or a foreign company covered under clause
(42) of Section 2 of the Companies Act, 2013 (Act 18 of 2013) or an office,
branch or agency outside India owned or controlled by a person resident in
India as provided in sub-clause (iii) of clause (v) of Section 2 of the Foreign
Exchange Management Act, 1999 (Act 42 of 1999); and
(a)
appoint a nodal person of contact or an alternate senior designated functionary
who is resident in India, to ensure compliance with the provisions of the Act
or the rules made thereunder.
(2) Every e-commerce entity shall provide the
following information in a clear and accessible manner on its platform,
displayed prominently to its users, namely:-—
(a) legal name of the e-commerce entity;
(b) principal geographic address of its
headquarters and all branches;
(c) name and details of its website; and
(d) contact details
like e-mail address, fax, landline and mobile numbers of customer care as well as of grievance officer.
(3) No e-commerce entity shall adopt any
unfair trade practice, whether in the course of business on its platform or
otherwise.
(4) 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.
(5) 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.
(6) 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.
(7) 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.
(8) 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.
(9) 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 checkboxes.
(10) 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.
(11) No e-commerce entity shall—
(a)
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;
(b)
discriminate between consumers of the same class or make any arbitrary
classification of consumers affecting their rights under the Act.
5. Liabilities of marketplace e-commerce
entities.—(1)
A marketplace e-commerce entity which seeks to avail the exemption from
liability under sub-section (1) of Section 79 of the Information Technology
Act, 2000 (Act 21 of 2000) shall comply with sub-sections (2) and (3) of that
section, including the provisions of the Information Technology (Intermediary
Guidelines) Rules, 2011.
(2) Every marketplace e-commerce entity shall
require sellers through an undertaking to ensure that descriptions, images, and
other content pertaining to goods or services on their platform is accurate and
corresponds directly with the appearance, nature, quality, purpose and other
general features of such good or service.
(3) Every marketplace e-commerce entity shall
provide the following information in a clear and accessible manner, displayed
prominently to its users at the appropriate place on its platform:
(a)
details about the sellers offering goods and services, including the name of
their business, whether registered or not, their geographic address, customer
care number, any rating or other aggregated feedback about such seller, and any
other information necessary for enabling consumers to make informed decisions
at the pre- purchase stage:
Provided
that a marketplace e-commerce entity shall, on a request in writing made by a
consumer after the purchase of any goods or services on its platform by such
consumer, provide him with information regarding the seller from which such
consumer has made such purchase, including the principal geographic address of
its headquarters and all branches, name and details of its website, its email
address and any other information necessary for communication with the seller
for effective dispute resolution;
(b)
a ticket number for each complaint lodged through which the consumer can track
the status of the complaint;
(c)
information relating to return, refund, exchange, warranty and guarantee,
delivery and shipment, modes of payment, and grievance redressal mechanism, and
any other similar information which may be required by consumers to make
informed decisions;
(d)
information on available payment methods, the security of those payment
methods, any fees or charges payable by users, the procedure to cancel regular
payments under those methods, charge-back options, if any, and the contact
information of the relevant payment service provider;
(e)
all information provided to it by sellers under sub-rule (5) of Rule 6; and
(f) explanation of the main parameters which,
individually or collectively, are most significant in determining the ranking
of goods or sellers on its platform and the relative importance of those main
parameters through an easily and publicly available description drafted in
plain and intelligible language.
(4) Every marketplace e-commerce entity shall
include in its terms and conditions generally governing its relationship with
sellers on its platform, a description of any differentiated treatment which it
gives or might give between goods or services or sellers of the same category.
(5) Every marketplace e-commerce entity shall
take reasonable efforts to maintain a record of relevant information allowing
for the identification of all sellers who have repeatedly offered goods or
services that have previously been removed or access to which has previously
been disabled under the Copyright Act, 1957 (Act 14 of 1957), the Trade Marks
Act, 1999 (Act 47 of 1999) or the Information Technology Act, 2000 (Act 21 of 2000):
Provided
that no such e-commerce entity shall be required to terminate the access of
such seller to its platform pursuant to this sub-rule but may do so on a
voluntary basis.
6. Duties of sellers on marketplace.—(1) No seller
offering goods or services through a marketplace e-commerce entity shall adopt
any unfair trade practice whether in the course of the offer on the e-commerce
entity's platform or otherwise.
(2) No such seller shall falsely represent
itself as a consumer and post reviews about goods or services or misrepresent
the quality or the features of any goods or services.
(3) No seller offering goods or services
through a marketplace e-commerce entity shall refuse to take back goods, or
withdraw or discontinue services purchased or agreed to be purchased, or refuse
to refund consideration, if paid, if such goods or services are defective,
deficient or spurious, or if the goods or services are not of the
characteristics or features as advertised or as agreed to, or if such goods or
services are delivered late from the stated delivery schedule:
Provided
that in the case of late delivery, this sub-rule shall not be applied if such
late delivery was due to force majeure.
(4) Any seller offering goods or services
through a marketplace e-commerce entity shall:
(a)
have a prior written contract with the respective e-commerce entity in order to
undertake or solicit such sale or offer;
(b)
appoint a grievance officer for consumer grievance redressal and ensure that
the grievance officer 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;
(c)
ensure that the advertisements for marketing of goods or services are
consistent with the actual characteristics, access and usage conditions of such
goods or services.
(d)
provide to the e-commerce entity its legal name, principal geographic address
of its headquarters and all branches, the name and details of its website, its
e-mail address, customer care contact details such as fax, landline, and mobile
numbers and where applicable, its GSTIN and PAN details.
(5) Any seller offering goods or services
through a marketplace e-commerce entity shall provide the following information
to the e-commerce entity to be displayed on its platform or website:
(a)
all contractual information required to be disclosed by law;
(b)
total price in single figure of any good or service, along with the breakup
price for the good or service, showing all the compulsory and voluntary charges
such as delivery charges, postage and handling charges, conveyance charges and
the applicable tax, as applicable;
(c)
all mandatory notices and information provided by applicable laws, and the
expiry date of the good being offered for sale, where applicable;
(d)
all relevant details about the goods and services offered for sale by the
seller including country of origin which are necessary for enabling the
consumer to make an informed decision at the pre-purchase stage;
(e)
the name and contact numbers, and designation of the grievance officer for
consumer grievance redressal or for reporting any other matter;
(f)
name and details of importer, and guarantees related to the authenticity or
genuineness of the imported products;
(g)
accurate information related to terms of exchange, returns, and refund
including information related to costs of return shipping in a clear and
accessible manner;
(h)
relevant details related to delivery and shipment of such goods or services;
and
(i)
any relevant guarantees or warranties applicable to such goods or services.
7. Duties and liabilities of inventory
e-commerce entities:—
(1) Every inventory e-commerce entity shall
provide the following information in a clear and accessible manner, displayed
prominently to its users:
(a)
accurate information related to return, refund, exchange, warranty and
guarantee, delivery and shipment, cost of return shipping, mode of payments,
grievance redressal mechanism, and any other similar information which may be
required by consumers to make informed decisions;
(b)
all mandatory notices and information required by applicable laws;
(c)
information on available payment methods, the security of those payment
methods, the procedure to cancel regular payments under those methods, any fees
or charges payable by users, charge back options, if any, and the contact
information of the relevant payment service provider;
(d)
all contractual information required to be disclosed by law;
(e)
total price in single figure of any good or service along with the breakup
price for the good or service, showing all the compulsory and voluntary
charges, such as delivery charges, postage and handling charges, conveyance
charges and the applicable tax; and
(f)
a ticket number for each complaint lodged, through which the consumer can track
the status of their complaint.
(2) No inventory e-commerce entity shall
falsely represent itself as a consumer and post reviews about goods and
services or misrepresent the quality or the features of any goods or services.
(3) Every inventory e-commerce entity shall
ensure that the advertisements for marketing of goods or services are
consistent with the actual characteristics, access and usage conditions of such
goods or services;
(4) No inventory e-commerce entity shall
refuse to take back goods, or withdraw or discontinue services purchased or
agreed to be purchased, or refuse to refund consideration, if paid, if such
goods or services are defective, deficient spurious, or if the goods or
services are not of the characteristics or features as advertised or as agreed
to, or if such goods or services are delivered late from the stated delivery
schedule:
Provided
that in the case of late delivery, this sub rule shall not apply if such late
delivery was due to force majeure.
(5) Any inventory e-commerce entity which
explicitly or implicitly vouches for the authenticity of the goods or services
sold by it, or guarantees that such goods or services are authentic, shall bear
appropriate liability in any action related to the authenticity of such good or
service.
8. Contravention of rules.—The provisions of
the Consumer Protection Act, 2019 (Act 35 of 2019) shall apply for any
violation of the provisions of these rules.
———
1 Vide Notification No. G.S.R. 462(E), dated 23-7-2020,
published in the Gazette of India, Extra., Part II, Section 3(i), No.
358, dated 23-7-2020.
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