Many of the online sellers on various e-commerce platforms have not been able to comply with Legal Metrology Packaged Commodity Rules 2017 amendment and display 'best before date' for products and in some cases even MRP (maximum retail price), said community-led social media engagement platform LocalCircles. It said the new compliance provided by the government for these sellers to display ‘country of origin’ will just not happen and if it does, it will likely not be accurate.

“Hence, the government should look at mandating for all packaged products the display of the image of the ‘principal display panel’ and give e-commerce platforms and sellers 6 months to comply with the same,” said Sachin Taparia, founder and chairman, LocalCircles. “Such a move will not only make the compliance easier, from a consumer standpoint it will bring the online buying experience closer to buying at a retail store where all this information is available to them.”

The ‘principal display panel’ (PDP) is the part of a product label that carries all the information about the item including country of origin and net contents.

According to the survey conducted by LocalCircles, only 65 per cent consumers could find MRP information on e-commerce sites. Also, only 31 per cent could find 'best before date' information for human consumption products.

The Department of Consumer Affairs implemented the Packaged Commodity Rules 2017 on January 1, 2018 and mandated the display of MRP of every packaged product on e-commerce sites operating in India. It also mandated the display of the ‘best before date’ on human consumption items being sold across e-commerce sites to help consumers make informed decisions.

Also, Packaged Commodity Rules 2017 amendment applies legal metrology rules to e-commerce. It requires sellers to display MRP for all packaged products. This includes human consumption products such as grocery, medicines and cosmetics to show best before date.

Two and a half years after PCR 2017 came into force, LocalCircles conducted its 30th month survey to check what has been the compliance status in the last 3 months. This was done especially after the Government mandated display of ‘country of origin’ on e-commerce sites. The survey received over 16,000 responses from consumers based in 228 districts of India.

Consumers were asked if most e-commerce sites that they have shopped at in the last 3 months are now disclosing MRP information on their site or app. In response, 65 per cent said 'yes' while 35 per cent said 'no'. However, LocalCircles said sellers on most large e-commerce platforms such as Amazon, Flipkart, Snapdeal are now compliant on the MRP display rule.

Also, the Consumer Protection Act,2019 came into effect from July 20, 2020. With this the Consumer Protection (e-commerce) Rules 2020 were enforced from July 23. As per the notification, these rules would cover all goods and services bought or sold over digital or electronic networks. This includes e-commerce entities like AliExpress, which are not established in India, but offer goods or services to consumers in India. However, according to the LocalCircles survey, 69 per cent consumers could not find the best before date information on human consumption products on e-commerce sites. Only 31 per cent said they were easily able to find.

The E-commerce Rules 2020 also clearly state that the sellers on e-commerce platforms are mandated to provide the expiry date of the goods offered for sale, wherever applicable. According to the survey, the percentage of consumers who were not able to find this information in last year’s survey stood at 54 per cent while it has increased to 69 per cent this year.