The Central Consumer Protection Authority (CCPA) on Wednesday said it has imposed a fine of Rs 1,00,000 on e-commerce company Flipkart for allowing the sale of substandard domestic pressure cookers on its platform.
Speaking to PTI, CCPA Chief Commissioner Nidhi Khare said that a fine of Rs. Flipkart has been fined Rs 1,00,000 for allowing the sale of pressure cookers without the mandatory quality standard mark on its e-commerce platform and for violating the rights of consumers.
He said that Flipkart has also been directed to notify the consumers of all 598 pressure cookers sold on its platform, to recall the pressure cookers and to reimburse the money to the consumers.
The company has also been asked to submit a compliance report within 45 days, he added.
From February 2021, the government has mandated the use of standards-compliant and quality-marked home pressure cookers to protect consumers from the risk of injury and in the interest of the public at large.
All domestic pressure cookers are required to comply with the ‘IS 2347:2017’ standard and due diligence is required to determine whether pressure cookers are offered for sale online or offline.
According to the CCPA, Flipkart in its ‘Terms of Use’ mentions ‘Powered by Flipkart’ on every invoice of the product and has distinguished sellers as ‘Gold, Silver and Bronze’ for distribution of various benefits, Which indicates the role played by the company. The e-commerce company is selling pressure cookers on its platform.
The authority further said, “Flipkart earned a total fee of Rs 1,84,263 through the sale of such pressure cookers on its e-commerce platform.”
The CCPA chief further said that “while Flipkart has commercially benefited from the sale of such pressure cookers, it cannot absolve itself of the role and responsibility arising out of their sale to consumers”.
In order to increase awareness and quality awareness among consumers, CCPA has launched a nationwide campaign to curb the sale of counterfeit and counterfeit goods that violate compliance with mandatory standards on certain products listed by the government.
Helmets, household pressure cookers and LPG cylinders are the three products CCPA is focusing on in its campaign.
It has also written to district collectors across the country to investigate unfair trade practices and violation of consumer rights in relation to the manufacture or sale of such products and submit action taken reports.
As part of the campaign, the Bureau of Indian Standards (BIS) has searched and seized several non-standard helmets and pressure cookers.
The CCPA chief said that the BIS has seized at least 1,435 pressure cookers and 1,088 helmets, which did not conform to the mandatory standards.
About 38 per cent of the complaints on the national consumer helpline were related to e-commerce, including defective product delivery, failure to refund the amount paid and delay in delivery of the product.
