Amazon, Flipkart may have to pay steep fines for failure of sellers to publish country of origin

Etailers such as Amazon and Flipkart will be held liable and can be fined if sellers on their platforms do not publish the country of origin on their products, according to a senior government official.

"When you (etailers) allow sellers (to sell)..., do not allow them to violate the law. You will be held liable because you are the facilitator," the official told Moneycontrol on condition of anonymity.

According to him, companies are liable to pay a fine starting from Rs 25,000 for the first offence. It can get extended for multiple offences. There is no immediate clarity if there will be a cap on fine. Currently, just 70 percent of the listings available on the two e-commerce companies comply with this rule.

Last month, the Ministry of Consumer Affairs had sent the two etailers notices for not displaying the country of origin on products sold on their websites. The ministry had asked them to explain the reason within 15 days, failing which action would be initiated against them as per the provisions of the Legal Metrology Rules, 2011.

According to the source quoted above, the etailers have sent their responses to the government stating that they have already started delisting sellers who have failed to display the country of origin of their products. “The government is now examining their response and will decide on the next mode of action shortly.”

Flipkart did not respond to queries.

An Amazon spokesperson said: “Amazon.in is a marketplace enabling third party sellers to list and offer goods for sale to customers in India. Third-party sellers list, own and sell products on the marketplace, and they are also responsible for updating their product listings with requisite product information including country of origin, as legally mandated. We display country of origin information for all products as provided to us by the sellers of such products. We treat all regulatory communications with utmost seriousness and as required under applicable law."