Major e-commerce platforms including Ajio, JioMart, Netmed, BigBasket, Tata Cliq, Tata 1mg, Zomato and Ola would adopt a Safety Pledge on National Consumer Day 2024, to be celebrated on December 24, the Department of Consumer Affairs said in a statement on Saturday. The Safety Pledge is a voluntary commitment by e-commerce platforms to detect and prevent the sale of unsafe, spurious and non-conforming products, cooperating with statutory authorities responsible for product safety, raising consumer product safety awareness among sellers, and empowering consumers on product safety.

In a step towards securing consumers’ interests, the Department of Consumer Affairs had held a stakeholder consultation in November last year. It noted that the sale of products that are unsafe or fail to meet the relevant standards on e-commerce platforms, pose a significant risk to the safety and well-being of consumers and the public. This becomes particularly crucial in the case of products that are mandated to conform to standards under Quality Control Orders (QCOs), it added.

Subsequently, a committee was constituted to draft the pledge with major e-commerce entities, industry bodies and law chairs as its members. The committee was tasked to prepare and submit the Safety Pledge to the Department. The final draft of the pledge has been prepared after an extensive consultative process, it added.

Voluntary safety pledge

“Many jurisdictions across the globe have nudged e-commerce platforms to take a voluntary safety pledge, as an informal commitment to pro-actively address the issue of determining liability on e-commerce platforms, especially when the actual seller is untraceable or unwilling to accept responsibility,” it added.

DoCA also pointed out the unique nature of e-commerce, where physical examination of products before purchase is not possible, underscores the crucial role of product safety. It stressed that product safety holds paramount importance for online shoppers.

“With over 880 million users, India is the world’s second-largest internet market. By 2030, India is projected to host the second-largest online shopper base globally, with an estimated 500 million shoppers. In light of the consistent expansion of e-commerce in India, ensuring the safety of products sold online is imperative for consumer well-being,” the statement added.

The Consumer Protection Act, 2019, acknowledges the significance of safety and product standards while purchasing a product. ‘Consumer rights’  includes the right to be protected against the marketing of goods, products or services that are hazardous to life and property, and the right to be informed about the quality, quantity, potency, purity, standard and price of goods, products. Pertinently, the duties of e-commerce entities stipulated under Rule 4(3) of the Consumer Protection (E-commerce) Rules, 2020, includes the duty to not adopt any unfair trade practice, whether in the course of business on its platform or otherwise, the statement added.