India’s first ‘legal’ brick-and-mortar sex store shuts shop due to lack of trade licence

Global adult sex product market is estimated to cross Rs 4 lakh crore by 2026, with India taking a 2.5% share of the pie. (Representative Image)

Call it a one-night stand. A month, actually. Goa’s dalliance with a brick-and-mortar sexual wellness store that began on this Valentine’s Day ended abruptly on Wednesday after the head of the Calangute Village Panchayat ordered its closure citing ‘lack of trade licence’.

Called Kama Gizmos and sitting coquettishly in the crowded touristy Calangute beach area, the sexual wellness store was billed by the owners as the country’s first ‘legal’ sex store. However, according to Dinesh Simepurushkar, Sarpanch of Calangute Village Panchayat, the store did not have a mandatory trade permit from the panchayat.

“We became aware of the existence of the store only after its details went viral in media and on social media platforms. As per rules, every business entity has to acquire a trade licence to set shop within the panchayat’s jurisdiction. The owners did not apply for a permit, hence, it was deemed illegal,” Simepurushkar told Moneycontrol.

Also Read: India’s first legal offline sex toy shop opens doors

Why was the sex store shut?

Was it merely commercial rule-breaking? Or was there a dash of moral outrage? Simepurushkar said the panchayat did receive oral complaints about the store and questions were raised about its moral implications and legality. But Kama Gizmos failed to follow the process, according to him. “According to the regular procedure, 11 members of the panchayat body deliberate upon the details before granting trade license to any business.”

Simepurushkar said after all the media hue and cry, even if Kama Gizmos applies for a permit, the panchayat will think twice before granting permission. “We are seeking expert opinion about the legality of offline sexual wellness stores in India.”

The legality of a physical offline sexual wellness store in India is hazy. Experts say there is no law that specifically prohibits the sale of sex toys in a brick-and-mortar store.

It all depends on the interpretation of ‘vulgarity’ and ‘obscenity’ under Section 292 of the Indian Penal Code, 1860 (IPC), which states that any book, pamphlet, paper, writing, drawing, painting, representation, figure or any other object will be obscene if it is lascivious, appeals to the prurient interest or tends to deprave and corrupt the minds of persons. The section penalises the sale, public exhibition, distribution, import and export of any such obscene objects and punishes the wrongdoer with imprisonment up to 5 years and fine which may extend to Rs 5,000.

"Despite scope for some regulatory leeway within the scope of these laws, sexual toys and devices still fall in a bit of a ‘grey area’. It will be difficult to uphold one mode of the same line of business and not the other and therefore, such an action is likely to solicit a challenge on legal grounds by the store owners. Besides, the Supreme Court, in the past has upheld that the concept of obscenity would change with the passage of time and what might have been "obscene" at one point of time would be considered as obscene at a later period. The manner in which the sexual products are being displayed and exhibited for sale should not be 'obscene'," said Shreya Suri, Principle Associate, Indus Law.

Suri said the Goa shop also appears to have taken precautions to ensure that the packaging of these products does not have any nudity. "Needless to say, the packaging and description of the products would play a vital role in any legal challenge."

No trace after panchayat move

At the time of writing this, Kama Gizmos’ Instagram account is unavailable; its official website displays ‘Account Suspended’, and all calls to the phone number is spurned by a cold ‘The number you are dialling is temporarily out of service” message.

A joint venture of Kamakart and Gizmoswala, two retailers of sexual wellness products, there was nothing titillating about Kama Gizmos. No smutty facade. No bawdy mannequins in lacy lingerie in the shop window.

A joint venture of Kamakart and Gizmoswala, two retailers of sexual wellness products, there was nothing titillating about Kama Gizmos.

No risqué silhouettes on the blood-red signboard that read: Kama Gizmos. Condoms & More along with a mention of the phone number and official website url. Nothing obviously salacious. But anyone with a libido-laden brain would have found a hint of eroticism in the phone number: 9x69xx6969.

Those who visited Kama Gizmos were surprised by the pharmacy-like interiors of the store.  Neatly arranged shelves with products displayed clinically. You could pick a viagra-like spray, vibrators, lubricants, novelty condoms as casually as you would potatoes and sugar in a departmental store.

Sex sells in India

India’s appetite for sexual wellness products has spiked 65 percent post Covid-19 lockdown. Male pumps, female massagers and lubricants are on top of the sex-need hierarchy with male strokers and pleasure rings rising high on the lust list, according to the fourth edition of India Uncovered: Insightful Analysis of Sex Products’ Trends in India, a report curated by ThatsPersonal.com, India’s leading sexual wellness destination.

According to the report, Maharashtra continues to top the state ranking for the sale of sex products, followed by Karnataka and Tamil Nadu. Amongst cities, Mumbai remains the biggest buyer followed by Bengaluru and New Delhi. Lucknow has emerged as the top tier II city in purchase of sex products while Panipat, Shillong, Puducherry (Pondicherry) and Haridwar are some of the prominent Tier III cities.

Though Kama Gizmos has shut shop, sex surely sells. By 2026, the global adult sex product market is predicted to cross the Rs 400,000 crore mark, with India taking a 2.5 percent share of the sex product pie.