The Centre on Friday served notices to e-commerce majors Amazon and Flipkart for non-declaration of mandatory disclosure, including the ‘Country of Origin’ on specific products.
The notices have been issued by the Department of Consumer Affairs, Ministry of Consumer Affairs, Food and Public Distribution. While notices have been issued to Amazon and Flipkart, the department has asked the states to ensure compliance of rules by all e-commerce companies.
In its notices to both the companies, the Ministry of Consumer Affairs said that on examining the concerned advertisements, it was found that the mandatory declarations were not mentioned as per the norms under the Legal Metrology (Packaged Commodity) Rules.
The Legal Metrology (Packaged Commodities) Rules provides that an e-commerce entity has to ensure that the mandatory declarations (including the country of origin), except the month and year in which the commodity is manufactured or packed, “shall be displayed on the digital and electronic network used for e-commerce transactions”.
In the case of a marketplace model of e-commerce, the responsibility of the correctness of the declarations lies with the manufacturer or seller or dealer or importer.
The ministry asked both the companies to furnish the required information and response to the notice within 15 days else action will be initiated against them.
All e-commerce firms needed to comply with the norm to tag the ‘Country of Origin’ on all items being sold on their platforms by September 30.
Recently, the call for such norms gained momentum due to the India-China border tussle.
The Confederation of All India Traders (CAIT), which has been at the forefront of the campaign to mandate disclosure of ‘Country of Origin’, applauded the government’s move.
