The Central Consumer Protection Authority (CCPA) has issued orders against leading ecommerce platforms including Amazon, Flipkart, Snapdeal, Shopclues, and Meesho for selling car seat belt alarm stopper clips in violation of the Consumer Protection Act, 2019. The Ministry of Consumer Affairs stated that selling such products not only infringes upon consumer rights but also constitutes unfair trade practices.
Under the Central Motor Vehicles Rules, 1989, wearing seat belts is mandatory for passenger safety. However, the online sale of car seat belt alarm stopper clips, which disable the alarm beep when seat belts are not worn, can jeopardize the safety and lives of consumers, the ministry highlighted.
The CCPA was alerted to the issue of car seat belt alarm stopper clips by the Department of Consumer Affairs, which received a letter from the Ministry of Road Transport and Highways (MoRTH) regarding the blatant sale of such items. The MoRTH requested action against the errant vendors and online platforms, as well as the issuance of an advisory.
After investigating the matter and considering submissions from ecommerce players, the CCPA directed the ecommerce platforms to permanently remove all car seat belt alarm stopper clips and associated motor vehicle components from their listings. The platforms were also instructed to inform the CCPA about the actions taken against the sellers of these products and submit details of the sellers along with a compliance report.
In response to the directions, all five ecommerce entities submitted compliance reports indicating that approximately 13,118 listings of car seat belt alarm stopper clips were delisted. Amazon accounted for 8,095 of these listings, while Flipkart accounted for 4,000-5,000.
This is not the first time the CCPA has taken action against ecommerce platforms for selling potentially harmful items. Last year, notices were issued to major players for selling corrosive acids online. Earlier this year, the authority also issued notices to Amazon, Flipkart, and Snapdeal for selling toys that violated the country’s quality standards.
The consumer affairs ministry is increasingly focused on enforcing stricter regulations for ecommerce companies. It is reportedly working on making these companies liable for any fraudulent activities conducted by sellers on their platforms by introducing “fallback liability” as intermediaries. Currently, ecommerce platforms often deny liability or refuse to provide appropriate remedies to consumers by referring to Section 79 of the Information Technology Act, 2000. The upcoming ecommerce norms aim to assign greater responsibility to these platforms as intermediaries.
