The department of consumer affairs on Thursday asked e-commerce platforms to prepare a voluntary pledge on ensuring the quality and safety of the goods they sell. The department has formed a committee to draft the pledge in two weeks. The committee has members from major e-commerce platforms, voluntary consumer associations, industry bodies and National Law Universities, according to an official statement.
The decision was announced during a stakeholder consultation led by consumer affairs secretary Rohit Kumar Singh. He said, “The product safety pledge is a voluntary commitment by online platforms… to ensure that goods sold to consumers meet all safety norms prescribed in the Consumer Protection Act, 2019.”
The pledge aims to improve the quality of goods across online marketplaces and better protect consumers from unsafe products, the Singh said at the consultation, which was attended by representatives from industry associations, major e-commerce platforms, voluntary consumer associations and others. By signing the pledge, companies could demonstrate their commitment to improving product safety, he added.
Proposed principles of the safety pledge include detecting and preventing the sale of unsafe products, co-operating with statutory authorities responsible for product safety, raising product-safety awareness among third-party sellers, and empowering consumers on product-safety issues, it said.
For better implementation of consumer norms, the department has partnered with the European Commission to adopt the best international practices for detecting and preventing the sale of unsafe goods online.
At the meeting, Singh presented various such pledges that have been adopted in the European Union, Japan, Australia, South Korea, Canada and other countries, the official statement said.
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Updated: 16 Nov 2023, 09:35 PM IST
