Skip to main content

Consumer Protection (E-Commerce) (Amendment) Rules, 2021



The Consumer Protection (E-Commerce) Rules, 2020 were amended on 6th June 2021 in light of greater accountability from the e-commerce platforms, protection of interests of consumers and encouragement of free and fair competition in the market. 

With the advent of the corona, e-commerce platforms have become a thing of commonplace and are being more frequently utilized for procurement of goods and shopping. This gives a greater prerogative on the platforms and the government to ensure safe transactions and consumer friendliness of the same. 

 Following are the changes that have been brought forth:

  • More definitions and elucidation of terms have been done in the definitions of the rules with words like flash sales, misrepresentation and cross-selling being covered under the ambit of the act.

  • A provision for the registration of e-commerce platforms in the Department for Promotion of Industry and Internal Trade (DPIIT) has been made with the allocation and prominent display of the same mandatory for the entities.

  • The provision for the grievance officer has been omitted and instead a Chief Compliance Officer and a resident grievance officer needs to be appointed and will be made responsible for the compliance of the provisions in these platforms.

  • There is a mandation of disclosing the name, origin and ratings of the product offered.

  • Sponsored listing of products and services are to be distinctly identified with unambiguous and prominent disclosures.

  • Specific flash sales or back-to-back sales which limit customer choice, increase prices and prevent a level playing field are not allowed.

  • Platforms are to provide information under its control or possession, or assistance to the Government agency which is lawfully authorised for investigative or protective or cybersecurity activities within seventy-two hours of the receipt of an order.

  • The role and impartation of functions by the logistics service provider have also been delved into.

  • Association of enterprises under section 2(76) of the Companies Act, 2013 has also been included with specific provisions available for the same to be incepted being laid out.


By: Vasupriya Awasthi

(Former Intern, WCSF)


Want the updates of blogs & news on your email or Whatsapp? Please fill the form: https://forms.gle/NtGu27N8vfFyZp3XA 

To know more about us, please visit our website: https://www.worldcybersecurities.com/ 


 

Comments

Popular posts from this blog

India's Cybersecurity Landscape: New Rules, Rising Threats, and Government Response

The recent interaction of the newly reappointed Union IT Minister with journalists has sparked significant interest within the IT Industry and among privacy enthusiasts. Ashwini Vaishnaw announced on June 15 that the MEITY will soon release the rules under the Digital Personal Data Protection (DPDP) Act, a development of immense significance for India's cybersecurity landscape. [1] 's Acts. It holds immense significance for the country, especially with the increasing number of internet users.  Of 2023 for public consultation. The rules hold immense significance for a country like India, with 751.5 million internet users at the commencement of 2024 [2] . With the continuous surge in internet usage across India, the volume of personal data shared online is also on the rise. This occurs either voluntarily, such as an individual providing personal information to a social media platform to access its services, or involuntarily, as a consequence of falling victim to a cybercrime inci...

UNESCO Guidelines on Generative AI in Schools

The advent of artificial intelligence has assumed prominence amongst all industries and various facets of people's personal lives. The integration of AI in education has been inevitable, given the significance and role of information, knowledge production and administration in the sector. This is especially so as its capabilities entail replicating higher-order thinking. Besides assisting in the education process, it also brings the element of real-life relevance, allowing education to be imparted against the backdrop of the evolving world due to the same AI. It tends to have implications on the subject matter that needs to be imparted, which tends to be something that constantly needs to answer the question of "Why and how is this particular subject matter relevant for learning?".  This induces policy-makers and educational institutions to rethink what they need to impart as knowledge, the area of matter, and the manner of thinking to be emphasised. This is because educa...

Dark Web: Safe or unsafe? Truth Revealed!

  The dark web is the part of the internet that is not visible to search engines. With the advancement in technology, digitization has resulted in different types of attacks. We can talk to anyone as long as we have an internet connection. The main concern is with privacy and anonymity in mind.  A team of computer scientists and mathematicians working for one branch of the US navy which is known as the Naval Research laboratory (NRL), developed a new technology known as Onion Routing. It allows anonymous communication where the source and destination cannot be determined by the third party. A network using the Onion Routing technique is classified as Darknet. The NRL released the Onion Routing Technique and it became The Onion Router, also known as TOR. Advantages of Dark Web  Humans are allowed to hold privacy and express their views freely. Privacy is considered to be critical for honest persons through the different criminals and stalkers.  The growing tendency of...