In re Weblink. In Pvt. Ltd (CCPA Delhi)
Summary: The Central Consumer Protection Authority (CCPA), by order dated 8 September 2026, examined the listing, hosting, advertising and facilitation of sale or enquiry of Ammonium Nitrate and Pentaerythritol Tetranitrate (PETN) on ExportersIndia.com, operated by Weblink.In Private Limited. The proceedings arose from a sector-wide review of e-commerce platforms concerning hazardous chemicals and explosive substances. The Authority found that the platform had permitted listings without adequate disclosure of seller licensing, buyer eligibility, transaction traceability and legal restrictions governing possession and use. The CCPA also considered the platform’s “verified” seller indicator, membership model, V-Trust Certificate and in-platform buyer-seller communications.
The Authority first corrected the description of the opposite party to Weblink.In Private Limited (trading as ExportersIndia.com), noting that the company had participated throughout the proceedings without demonstrated prejudice. The platform’s principal defence was that it was a non-transactional B2B information or directory service, that transactions occurred independently and offline between third-party buyers and sellers, and that it neither possessed nor physically handled the products. It also relied upon intermediary protection under Section 79 of the Information Technology Act, 2000 and contended that the applicable explosives legislation did not expressly impose on an e-commerce platform the same seller-licence verification obligation found under the Insecticides Rules.
