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Govt amends e-com rules to strengthen consumer protection
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Friday, 25 September, 2026, 08 : 00 AM [IST]
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Ashwani Maindola, New Delhi
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The Department of Consumer Affairs has amended the Consumer Protection (E-Commerce) Rules, 2020, notifying the Consumer Protection (E-Commerce) (Amendment) Rules, 2026.
The updated framework aims to strengthen consumer protection while facilitating a transparent and balanced regulatory environment for the e-commerce sector. The new rules will officially come into force on January 1, 2027.
The regulatory intervention comes in response to rising digital marketplace grievances.
During 2025, the National Consumer Helpline (NCH) received 17,71,622 grievances, of which 5,11,196—or around 29 per cent—related to the e-commerce sector.
To address this, every e-commerce entity is now mandated to integrate with the NCH convergence process to streamline grievance redressal.
The amended rules will significantly impact online food platforms and grocery sellers, which must now ensure full transparency regarding shelf life, expiry dates, and mandatory pre-purchase seller disclosures.
Also, food delivery aggregators and quick-commerce apps will no longer be permitted to hide sponsored listings or manipulate search algorithms to favour specific cloud kitchens or preferred vendors.
Furthermore, strict bans on misleading "dark patterns", such as automatically adding tip charges, packaging fees, or opt-in delivery subscriptions, will force food platforms to present clear, unbundled pricing before checkout.
India's largest traders' body, CAIT, has welcomed the notification, which includes mandatory measures for e-commerce platforms such as search ranking transparency, clear disclosures for sponsored listings, display of genuine discount details, integration with the National Consumer Helpline, strengthened grievance redressal mechanisms, and strict curbs on misleading "dark patterns" designed to trick consumers.
CAIT General Secretary and Lok Sabha MP, Praveen Khandelwal, stated that the trade body had long advocated against predatory pricing, deep discounting, opaque algorithms, manipulative search outcomes, and unfair preference given to select marketplace sellers.
He emphasized that the new regulatory framework aligns with the Union Government's vision of empowering small traders, retailers, startups, and MSMEs by establishing a level playing field between online platforms and traditional brick-and-mortar stores.
Shankar Thakkar, National Secretary, CAIT, stated that the rules will significantly curb misleading pricing tactics and restore consumer trust across online marketplaces.
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