Now Reading: CCPA fines Flipkart Rs 5 lakh for selling non-BIS toys, rejects safe harbour
-
01
CCPA fines Flipkart Rs 5 lakh for selling non-BIS toys, rejects safe harbour
CCPA fines Flipkart Rs 5 lakh for selling non-BIS toys, rejects safe harbour
The Central Consumer Protection Authority has imposed a Rs 5 lakh penalty on Flipkart Internet Private Limited for facilitating the sale of toys that did not meet mandatory Bureau of Indian Standards…
The Central Consumer Protection Authority has imposed a Rs 5 lakh penalty on Flipkart Internet Private Limited for facilitating the sale of toys that did not meet mandatory Bureau of Indian Standards requirements. The CCPA found that four sellers on the platform sold 1,338 non-compliant toys after the Toys (Quality Control) Order took effect in January 2021, generating Rs 5.46 lakh in seller revenue and Rs 1.43 lakh in fees for Flipkart.
Flipkart argued it was an intermediary protected under Section 79 of the Information Technology Act, 2000, and that sellers bore responsibility for compliance. The CCPA rejected this defence, holding that platform-level obligations under the Consumer Protection Act, 2019 and the E-Commerce Rules, 2020 operate independently of the IT Act's safe harbour. The authority noted that non-compliant toys remained listed on Flipkart in December 2025, indicating the platform had actual knowledge and failed to act.
The order also cited tags like 'Flipkart Assured' as evidence the platform was not a neutral host, as the tag could imply Flipkart had verified product safety. The CCPA has not expressly ruled on Flipkart's objections about the investigation exceeding the original notices.
Indian Opinion Analysis
The CCPA order is one of the first to test whether e-commerce platforms can claim the IT Act's safe harbour when they sell products that violate mandatory Indian quality standards. Under the Toys (Quality Control) Order, 2020, the Bureau of Indian Standards has not granted a single licence to a Chinese toy manufacturer since 2023, making any Chinese-origin toy on an Indian platform presumptively non-compliant. The CCPA's reasoning that platform-level duties under the Consumer Protection Act, 2019 survive Section 79 of the IT Act could reshape liability for all Indian e-commerce sites. If upheld on appeal, it would require platforms to actively screen listings for regulatory compliance, not merely act on complaints. The penalty of Rs 5 lakh is relatively small, but the precedent it sets is what makes this case significant for Flipkart, Amazon and every other marketplace operating in India.
Source: medianama.com
This story was synthesised by AI from the source linked above.
