Consumer authority slaps fine of Rs 1 lakh on e-tailer for selling sub-standard pressure cookers

The CCPA, headed by senior IAS officer Nidhi Khare, has also directed Cloudtail India to recall and reimburse the prices of 1,033 such pressure cookers sold to consumers, and submit a compliance report in 45 days.

The consumer protection authority passed the order against Cloudtail India for violation of consumer rights and unfair trade practice by selling domestic pressure cookers in violation of mandatory standards prescribed as per the Domestic Pressure Cooker (Quality Control) Order, 2020.

In a statement, the CCPA said, “Violation of standards mandated by the QCOs not only endanger public safety, but can make consumers vulnerable to severe injuries including loss of life. This is a critical cause for concern especially in case of domestic pressure cooker, which is a household good, present in most homes in the immediate vicinity of family members.”

“CCPA initiated suo motu action against e-commerce platforms for sale of domestic pressure cookers in violation of compulsory standards on its e-commerce platforms. CCPA had issued notice to major e-commerce platforms including Amazon, Flipkart, Paytm Mall, Shopclues and Snapdeal as well as to the sellers registered on these platforms,” the statement said.

As per the statement, “Cloudtail submitted in its reply to CCPA that after the QCO came into force, it had suspended the import of the pressure cookers.”

“It was observed by CCPA that though import was suspended, the company had not stopped the sale of such pressure cookers to consumers. In fact, this submission evidently indicated that despite being aware of the QCO, the company was still selling such pressure cookers to consumers at large. A total of 1,033 units of pressure cookers not conforming to mandatory standards were sold by Cloudtail through Amazon e-commerce platform after notification of the QCO,” the statement said.

“In the order, CCPA directed Cloudtail to recall the 1,033 units of pressure cookers sold by it and reimburse the prices of the recalled pressure cookers to the consumers and submit a

compliance report within 45 days. The company was also directed to pay a penalty of Rs ₹1,00,000 for selling domestic pressure cookers to consumers in violation of mandatory standards prescribed under the QCO and violating the rights of consumers,” the statement said.

It further said, “CCPA has also issued Safety Notices under Section 18(2)(j) of the Act to alert and caution consumers against buying goods which do not hold valid ISI Mark and violate compulsory BIS standards. While the first Safety Notice was issued with regard to helmets, pressure cookers and cooking gas cylinders, the second Safety Notice was issued with regard to household goods including electric immersion water heaters, sewing machines, microwave ovens, domestic gas stoves with LPG, etc.”

“CCPA is continuously monitoring the consumer protection landscape in the country. Recently, CCPA issued advisory to all e-commerce platforms with regard to the sale of Ayurvedic, Siddha and Unani drugs containing ingredients as listed in Schedule E(1) of Drugs and Cosmetics Rules highlighting that sale or facilitation of sale of such drugs shall be done only after a valid prescription of a registered medical practitioner is uploaded by the user on the platform,” the statement said.