Consumers demand laws to curb fake products menace in e-commerce policy

Stating that the issue of counterfeit product is a big hindrance in the growth of online commerce, consumers have demanded stringent laws and action against sellers selling fake products online in the e-commerce policy.

In its recommendation to the Department of Industrial Policy & Promotion (DIPP), Local Circles, a community media platform that hosts various startups has stated that in order to control the sale of fake products online, seller details should be made available for all products and any seller who is found listing a prohibited item must be immediately blacklisted.

The recommendation has been written basis feedback received from over 40,000 consumers and 10,000 small and medium enterprises between October and January.

The group has also demanded that the trademark owners should be given the option to register themselves with the e-commerce platforms.

“Via this feature, the trademark owners may come any time and may mark a listing as inappropriate. The platform will then provide the details of all such sellers to the trademark owner. If the trademark owner notifies the marketplace for removal of a particular listing being counterfeit, the marketplace must be required to remove it within 12 hours,” the letter states.

“In case a formal consumer complaint is received about a product being fake, the same shall be conveyed within 12 hours to the trademark owners registered with the platform,” it adds.

Local Circles had also stated last year that one out of every five products sold on e-commerce platforms are fake. The categories affected mostly by this include cosmetics and fragrances.

It wasn’t immediately clear if any of these recommendations have been considered by the government.

The development comes at a time when the government is in a fix on whether to first launch a draft for consultation or release the e-commerce policy directly.