The Central Consumer Protection Authority i.e. CCPA has imposed a fine of Rs 10 lakh each on Amazon and Flipkart and Rs 5 lakh on JioMart. The fine has been imposed for selling and advertising an unregistered agro-chemical product called ‘cyclocinone herbicide’ on their platform.

In a separate order on September 22, the consumer protection regulator directed the three e-commerce companies to stop selling and advertising the product with immediate effect. The regulator found that the product was being marketed without disclosing the chemical name of its active ingredient or its composition.

The CCPA also directs platforms to conduct self-audits to stop listing products that violate existing laws or pose a risk to consumer safety. Also, they were asked to submit a compliance report within 15 days of the order.

How did the investigation begin?

The investigation began when the CCPA received a complaint from the Union Ministry of Agriculture, originally filed by the Crop Care Federation of India (CCFI). During the investigation, the Ministry of Agriculture informed the CCPA that no chemical named “Cyclocinone” was listed in the Pesticides Act, 1968. This means that safety, bio-efficacy, quality and legal checks required under the law were neglected in the sale and marketing of the product. The CCPA found that the marketplace did not conduct sufficient independent checks on the regulatory status of products before going live on listings.

What did you say in your order against Amazon?

In its order against Amazon, the regulator cited 38,410 orders (which included 43,634 units and had a total sales value of Rs 96,42,572). This was a testament to how many consumers were affected and what kind of misunderstandings were created among buyers. Rejecting the platform’s defense that compliance is the responsibility of individual sellers under contract, the CCPA said that any private agreement between a marketplace and its sellers cannot override statutory obligations imposed by Parliament or laws created to protect consumers.

This rule is cited

It said that the requirement to obtain a guarantee (written guarantee) from sellers shows that the marketplace itself has an obligation to comply with the rules, and that it is not enough to look only at the terms of the agreement with the sellers. The regulator also invoked Rule 4(3) of the E-Commerce Rules, which prohibits e-commerce companies from engaging in unfair trade practices in the course of business.

The CCPA stated that sellers may provide false or incomplete information to list their products. Therefore, relying on self-declaration alone is not sufficient. This shows gross negligence and deficiencies in the second party vendor onboarding process, product verification and content moderation systems.

The regulator clarified that it does not claim jurisdiction over the formulation, composition or scientific properties of the product – these matters fall under the jurisdiction of other authorities. It said its mandate is limited to investigating the conduct of e-commerce companies, including violations of consumer rights, misleading advertising and unfair trade practices — all matters that fall under its legal jurisdiction.