Union Minister of State for Consumer Affairs, Food, and Public Distribution Ashwini Kumar Choubey explained in a written response to a question in the Lok Sabha today that an E-Commerce entity must ensure that the name and address of the manufacturer, packer, or importer, the Maximum Retail Price (MRP), the nation of origin, the common or generic name of the commodity, and the Legal Metrology (Packaged Commodities) Rules 2011 under the Legal Metrology Act, 2009 are all included.
This is to ensure that the consumer is taking an informed and conscious decision based on the declaration of the product on the E-Commerce platform.
Advertisement
The Legal Metrology Division, Department of Consumer Affairs, has issued 38 notices between 16 October 2020 and 31 December 2020, 232 notices between 1 January 2021 and 31 December 2021, and 178 notices between 1 January 2022 and 11 July 2022 for declaration violations by e-commerce companies.
An amount of about Rs. 77, 90,500 has been realised from e-commerce companies in the form of compounding fees. When the 2011 Legal Metrology (Packaged Commodities) Rules are broken, state governments are also permitted to initiate enforcement action.