Regulations mandate e-comm firms to display MRP, along with other mandatory labelling
E-commerce companies in India are not an adhering to the labelling guidelines mandated by the government, Ahmedabad-based consumer rights body, Consumer Education and Research Centre (CERC) said on the eve of World Consumer Rights Day (WCRD). The findings are a result of a survey conducted by CERC.
Ministry of Consumer Affairs (MoCA) amended the Legal Metrology (Packaged Commodities) Rules, 2011, through a notification on June 23, 2017.
The new regulations, that came into force from January 1, 2018, mandates e-commerce firms to display MRP of goods along with other mandatory labeling information on their websites.
However, the survey, conducted across product categories of food, toys, household items and shoes on popular e-commerce portals like Amazon, Snapdeal, Flipkart and Bigbasket, revealed gaps in compliance.
It was found that companies did not display of MRP, there was a variation in MRP from portal to portal and manufacturing date, use before date, best before or expiry date were not mentioned, a violation of mandatory labelling requirements of Food Safety and Standards Authority of India (FSSAI).
“The ministry should institute a system to monitor compliance with labelling regulations. Especially display of MRP and other labelling requirements, on all e-commerce portals and to have stringent enforcement mechanisms for the same,” said Pritee Shah, chief general manager of CERC.
None of the portals carried images of any product displayed on the product label showing MRP.
Where an image of the label was available, it showed the printed word ‘MRP’ with a blank space after it.
The product Figaro Olive Oil Tin 500 gm showed MRP of Rs 495 on Amazon and MRP of Rs 700 on Snapdeal.
According to the survey, none of the portals carried images of actual product label showing the date of manufacture and use before, best before or expiry dates for food products. The portal pages also did not carry these details of food products.
NOT IN RULE BOOK
- None of the portals carried images of any product displayed on the product label showing MRP.
- Where an image of the label was available, it showed the printed word ‘MRP’ with a blank space after it.
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