The Bureau of Indian Standards has conducted search and seizure operations at warehouses of major e-commerce platforms like Amazon to curb the sale of non-compliant products.
Centre Cracks Down on E-Commerce Platforms
In a significant move to ensure consumer safety and compliance with quality standards, the Bureau of Indian Standards (BIS) has launched a crackdown on major e-commerce platforms like Amazon and Flipkart. The operation involves search and seizure activities at multiple warehouse locations across cities such as Lucknow, Gurugram, and Delhi. This initiative aims to curb the distribution of non-compliant products through these platforms.
During the raids, BIS officials seized a substantial number of products that lacked mandatory BIS certification. At an Amazon warehouse in Lucknow, 215 toys and 24 hand blenders were confiscated on March 7. A similar operation at Amazon’s Gurugram facility in February resulted in the seizure of 58 aluminium foils, 34 metallic water bottles, 25 toys, 20 hand blenders, seven PVC cables, two food mixers, and one speaker—all without proper certification.
At a Flipkart warehouse in Gurugram, operated by Instakart Services Pvt Ltd, authorities seized 534 stainless steel vacuum-insulated bottles, 134 toys, and 41 speakers that failed to meet the required standards. The seized products include brands like Digismart, Activa, Inalsa, Cello Swift, and Butterfly. Investigations revealed that many of these non-certified products were linked to Techvision International Pvt Ltd, leading to further raids at two of the company’s facilities in Delhi. These raids uncovered approximately 7,000 electric water heaters, 4,000 electric food mixers, 95 electric room heaters, and 40 gas stoves without BIS certification.
Legal Action and Consumer Safety
Following the seizures, BIS initiated legal action under the BIS Act, 2016, to hold responsible entities accountable. The agency has already filed two court cases against Techvision International for violations of Sections 17(1) and 17(3) of the BIS Act. Additional cases are in the process of being filed for other seizure operations. Offenders face penalties starting at Rs 2 lakh, which may extend up to ten times the value of non-compliant goods sold or offered for sale. In severe cases, violators could face imprisonment of up to two years.
The BIS has emphasized that non-certified products pose significant safety risks to consumers as they have not undergone independent third-party testing to ensure they meet minimum safety and performance standards. To address this, the BIS urges consumers to use the BIS Care app to verify product certification authenticity and report non-compliant items. The app provides crucial information on products that require mandatory BIS certification.
Ongoing Surveillance and Compliance
As part of its ongoing efforts to protect consumer interests, the BIS is actively conducting market surveillance. This includes purchasing various consumer products and subjecting them to rigorous testing to verify compliance with prescribed standards. Products under surveillance include domestic pressure cookers, hand-held blenders, food mixers, electric irons, room heaters, PVC cables, gas stoves, toys, two-wheeler helmets, switches, sockets, and aluminium foils for food packaging.
The Union Government has made BIS certification mandatory for these products due to potential hazards posed by substandard quality products. Despite these regulations, several non-certified products continue to be sold on e-commerce platforms such as Amazon, Flipkart, Meesho, Myntra, and BigBasket. The BIS has issued notices to these platforms, directing them to ensure that only BIS-certified products are listed where certification is mandatory.
As the crackdown continues, it raises important questions about the role of e-commerce platforms in ensuring consumer safety.
What measures do you think these platforms should take to prevent the sale of non-certified products, and how can consumers be better protected?
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