Encoding of Consumer Protection (E-Commerce) Rules, 2020 – Part 1

If a person buys any good and avails any service for resale or commercial purpose, is not considered a consumer.

This definition covers all types of transactions i.e. online and offline.

(a) all goods and services bought or sold over the 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:

but exclude activity carried out in a personal capacity which is not part of any professional or commercial activity undertaken on a regular or systematic basis.

(a) It’s the legal name;

(b) Address;

(c) Contact details of its customer care and grievance officer;

(d) name and details of the importer (in case of imported goods);

(e) information relating to return, refund, exchange, warranty and guarantee, delivery and shipment, modes of payment, and grievance redressal mechanism;

(f) 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;

(g) the contact information of the relevant payment service provider must also be provided in a clear and accessible manner.

(h) any other similar information which may be required by consumers to make informed decisions;

It may be noted that even a seller offering his goods or services through a marketplace e-commerce entity will have to appoint a grievance officer for consumer grievance redressal.

(a) The grievance officer will have to acknowledge the receipt of any consumer complaint within 48 hours and

(b) redresses the complaint within one month from the date of receipt of the complaint.

(a) 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

(b) Total price in the 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, is required to be displayed by the seller;

(c) execute a written contract with the marketplace e-commerce entity;

(d) appoint a grievance office;

(e) Not to 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.

(f) 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

(a) To appoint a consumer grievance officer to rectify the complaints in a clear, effective, and efficient manner;

(b) they do not refuse to accept returns if such goods or services are among other factors, defective, deficient, or delivered late (other than owing to force majeure);

(c) 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.

(a) Every marketplace e-commerce entities shall comply with the relevant sub-section(s) of Section 79 and Information Technology (Intermediary Guidelines) Rules, 2011 of the Information Technology Act, 2000. ;

(b) Every marketplace e-commerce entity shall make reasonable efforts to maintain a record of relevant information allowing for the identification of all sellers who have been previously removed. It shall further maintain a record of such sellers who have been disabled under the Copyright Act, 1957 (14 of 1957), the Trade Marks Act, 1999 (47 of 1999) or the Information Technology Act, 2000 (21 of 2000);

(c) It is also mandatory for all the sellers offering goods or services through a marketplace e-commerce entity to have prior written contracts in order to undertake or solicit such sale or offer and display on its platforms all contractual information required to be disclosed by law;

(d) Undertaking from sellers to ensure that the descriptions, images and other information pertaining to goods or services on your platform is strictly accurate;

(e) marketplace e-commerce entities are required to provide for a dispute resolution mechanism on their platforms for consumers to approach the sellers;

(f) It makes incumbent upon them to take an undertaking from sellers to ensure that descriptions and other content pertaining to goods or services on their platform is accurate and corresponds directly with the quality and other general features of such good or service.