In re Flipkart Internet Pvt. Ltd. (Central Consumer Protection Authority)
In matter of Flipkart Internet Pvt. Ltd. (Sale of Agro-Chemical Product, namely “Cyclosinone Herbicide”)
Summary: The Central Consumer Protection Authority (CCPA) held Flipkart Internet Pvt. Ltd. responsible for misleading advertisement and unfair trade practice arising from the listing, advertising and sale of an unregistered agro-chemical product described as “Cyclosinone Herbicide” on its online marketplace. The proceedings originated from information forwarded by the Department of Agriculture and Farmers Welfare on a complaint by the Crop Care Federation of India. The complaint stated that “Cyclosinone Herbicide” was not included in the Schedule to the Insecticides Act, 1968, that its retail package did not disclose necessary regulatory information and that claims such as “low toxicity”, “Eco-Safe Weeds Terminator Lawn”, “Farmer and Gardener Approved Weed Killer”, “Long Lasting Protection” and “Safe Weed Control for Lawns” could mislead consumers.
The investigation found that 4,501 listings of the impugned product had been made and 5,47,223 units had been sold through the online marketplace, having an aggregate sale value of ₹11,57,89,968/-. The CCPA considered Flipkart’s contention that it operated only as a marketplace intermediary, that sellers independently created product listings and that the platform did not manufacture, sell, stock, exhibit for sale or distribute the product. Flipkart also relied on intermediary protection under Section 79 of the Information Technology Act, 2000 and Shreya Singhal v. Union of India, (2015) 5 SCC 1.
