Delhi High Court directs the Centre on e-commerce websites

Delhi High Court directs the Centre on e-commerce websites

A study revealed that only 23 were in compliance and 85 e-commerce websites were not complying with the Legal Metrology Rules

The Delhi High Court has directed the Central government to come up with a mechanism to conduct regular checks on e-commerce websites to ensure they comply with Indian laws.

A division bench of Acting Chief Justice Vipin Sanghi and Justice Navin Chawla ordered the Government of India to see whether the products sold on the e-commerce sites had details regarding the packaging, and maximum retail price (MRP) and the country of origin.

The court was dealing with a Public Interest Litigation (PIL) filed by Ajay Kumar Singh through Advocates Rajesh K Pandit and Ankur Gosain. It sought directions to the Centre to ensure that websites comply with the Consumer Protection (E-commerce) Rules, 2020 and the Legal Metrology (Packaged Commodity) Rules, 2011.

Appearing for the Centre, the counsel said that an inquiry was conducted and a sample analysis had been done by the Quality Council of India (QCI). It revealed that while 23 were complying, 85 e-commerce websites were not complying with the Legal Metrology Rules.

The counsel stated that notices had been issued to 152 companies for non-declaration of the country of origin of products sold on their websites. Out of those, 33 had compounded and 9 had either given a declaration or closed their business. He added that the companies could be booked for a criminal offence for non-compliance.

The bench, however, observed that the government had not yet put in place a mechanism to conduct regular and periodic checks on e-commerce websites. It, thus, gave six weeks to the Centre to file its status report on the same.