Indian Government recently announced the new Consumer Protection Rules of 2020 for all businesses, including e-commerce. More regulations and penalties have been introduced to ensure fair and accountable service to the consumers. With the pandemic having accelerated small businesses getting into e-commerce space and e-retail consumption, it’s crucial to ensure fair practice. All e-commerce sites should clearly state the prices of goods and services, breakdown of charges, products’ expiry date, country of origin, sellers’ details and more. They should set up grievance redressal cells and appoint a nodal officer, and ensure all complaints are acknowledged within 48 hours and resolved within a month. Location and contact details of the sellers, full details of operations, contact details, address, landline and mobile numbers of customer care should be provided. Most importantly, the sellers can’t refuse to return defective or deficient goods. Cancellation charges can’t be imposed unless similar charges are also borne by the sellers. 

In this episode of The Suno India Show, Vaishali spoke with Dr Sudhir Raveendran, who heads the corporate law firm Altacit global, about the new e-commerce rules. Altacit global is a one-stop-shop for corporate entities, for contracts, legal strategy for disputes, international ventures, and more.