Parliament Question: Defective Products by Quick Commerce Platforms

Government of India Ministry of Consumer Affairs, Food and Public Distribution Department of Consumer Affairs LOK SABHA UNSTARRED QUESTION NO. 4041 TO BE ANSWERED ON 12.08.2026 DEFECTIVE PRODUCTS BY QUICK COMMERCE PLATFORMS

4041. MS SAYANI GHOSH:

Will the Minister of CONSUMER AFFAIRS, FOOD AND PUBLIC

DISTRIBUTION be pleased to state:

(a) whether the Government has taken note of complaints regarding delivery of fake, damaged, defective or missing products by quick commerce platforms and if so, the details thereof;

(b) the number of complaints received against such platforms before Consumer Commissions, the Central Consumer Protection Authority (CCPA) and other consumer grievance mechanisms during the last five years, year and platform-wise indicating the number of cases resolved, pending and disposed of;

(c) whether the Government has issued any guidelines, advisories or regulations for quick commerce platforms relating to product authenticity, delivery standards, refunds, replacements and consumer protection and if so, the details thereof;

(d) the details of investigations, penalties, fines or other penal action taken against quick commerce companies found guilty of unfair trade practices, sale of counterfeit goods or deficiency in service;

and

(e) the details of the further steps taken by the Government to strengthen consumer protection and accountability in the quick commerce sector? ANSWER THE MINISTER OF STATE CONSUMER AFFAIRS, FOOD AND PUBLIC DISTRIBUTION (SHRI B.L. VERMA)

(a) to (e) : The National Consumer Helpline (NCH) administered by the Department of Consumer Affairs has emerged as a single point of access to consumers across the country for their grievance redressal at a pre-litigation stage. Consumers can register their grievances from all over the country in 17 languages including Hindi, English, Kashmiri, Punjabi, Nepali, Gujarati, Marathi, Kannada, Telugu, Tamil, Malayalam, Maithili, Santhali, Bengali, Odia, Assamese and Manipuri through a toll-free number 1915.

These grievances can be registered on Integrated Grievance Redressal Mechanism (INGRAM), an omnichannel IT enabled central portal, through various channels- WhatsApp (8800001915), SMS

(8800001915), email (nch-ca@gov.in), the NCH app, the web portal (consumerhelpline.gov.in) and the Umang app, as per their convenience. 1,853 companies, who have voluntarily partnered with NCH, as part of the ‘Convergence’ programme directly respond to these grievances according to their redressal process and revert by providing a feedback to the complainant on the portal.The year-wise and nature-wise details of the total number of complaints including complaints related to quick commerce platforms received and disposed of by the National Consumer Helpline (NCH) in e-commerce sector during the last five years are given at Annexure-I.

The platform-wise details of top ten companies against which the maximum number of complaints were received and disposed on NCH in e-commerce sector during the last five years are given at Annexure- II.

The National Consumer Helpline (NCH) has successfully facilitated refunds amounting to over ₹91 crore (including over ₹63 Crore with regard to the grievances pertaining to e-commerce sector) to consumers between 25th April 2025 and 30th June 2026 by effectively addressing over 1,47,000 consumer grievances related to refund claims at the pre-litigation stage.

The Department of Consumer Affairs notified the Consumer Protection (E-Commerce) Rules, 2020 on 23rd July, 2020 under the Consumer Protection Act, 2019, to prevent unfair trade practices and protect consumers in the e-commerce sector. As per the provisions of these rules, every e-commerce entity shall endeavor to become the partner in the convergence process of the National Consumer Helpline and must appoint a grievance officer and prominently display the officer’s name, designation, and contact details on its platform. The grievance officer shall acknowledge any consumer complaint within forty-eight hours and redress it within one month from the date of receipt. Consent of a consumer can be recorded only through explicit and affirmative action and not through pre-ticked checkboxes or automatic means. No e- commerce entity shall manipulate the price of goods or services to gain unreasonable profit or impose unjustified prices, nor shall it discriminate between consumers of the same class or make arbitrary classifications that affect consumer rights under the Act.

The Central Authority i.e. Central Consumer Protection Authority (CCPA) has been established under Section10 (1) of Consumer Protection Act, 2019 to regulate matters relating to violation of rights of consumers, unfair trade practices and false or misleading advertisements which are prejudicial to the interests of public and consumers and to promote, protect and enforce the rights of consumers as a class.

CCPA has notified the Guidelines for Prevention of Misleading Advertisements and Endorsements for Misleading Advertisements, 2022 on 9th June, 2022. These guidelines inter-alia provide for conditions for an advertisement to be non-misleading and valid; duties of manufacturer, service provider, advertiser and advertising agency including on e-commerce platforms.

Central Consumer Protection Authority, in exercise of the powers conferred by Section 18 of the Consumer Protection Act, 2019, issued “Guidelines for Prevention and Regulation of Dark Patterns, 2023” on 30th November, 2023, listing 13 specified dark patterns identified in e-Commerce sector. These dark patterns include false urgency, Basket Sneaking, Confirm shaming, forced action, Subscription trap, Interface Interference, Bait and switch, Drip Pricing, Disguised Advertisements, Nagging, Trick Wording, Saas Billing and Rogue Malwares.

An “Advisory in terms of Consumer Protection Act, 2019 on Self-Audit by E-Commerce Platforms for detecting the Dark Patterns on their platforms to create a fair, ethical and consumer centric digital ecosystem” was issued by Central Consumer Protection Authority on 5th June, 2025. 31 e-commerce platforms at Annexure-III have voluntarily submitted their self-declaration letters confirming compliance with the Guidelines for Prevention and Regulation of Dark Patterns, 2023.Aligned with global best practices, “Safety Pledge” has been finalized, in consultation with all the stakeholders, which is a voluntary public commitment of e-Commerce platforms to ensure the safety of goods sold online. This initiative strengthens consumer protection in the e-commerce. Major e-commerce companies including Reliance Retail group, Tata Sons group, Zomato, Ola, Swiggy signed the Safety Pledge for ensuring consumer safety.

The Central Consumer Protection Authority (CCPA) has imposed penalties amounting to approximately ₹1,12,01,500/- on 47 e-commerce platforms.

Also, the Bureau of Indian Standards (BIS) has published IS 19598:2026, E-Commerce-Principles and Guidelines for Self-Governance. The standard provides voluntary principles and guidelines for e- commerce entities covering, inter alia, seller due diligence, product information and authenticity, delivery and post-transaction processes, cancellations, returns, replacements, refunds, grievance redressal, and anti- counterfeiting measures. The standard is voluntary in nature and is intended to operate in conformity with the existing laws and regulations.

*****ANNEXURE-I ANNEXURE REFERRED TO IN REPLY TO PARTS (a) to (e) OF LOK SABHA UNSTARRED QUESTION NO.4041 FOR ANSWER ON 12.08.2026 REGARDING “DEFECTIVE PRODUCTS BY QUICK COMMERCE PLATFORMS”. ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------ Year-wise and nature-wise details of the total number of complaints including complaints related to quick commerce platforms received and disposed of by the National Consumer Helpline (NCH) in e-commerce sector during the last five years Year-wise: 2021 to 2025 S. No. Year Received Disposed 1 2021 2,24,592 2,24,592 1 2022 3,65,370 3,65,370 2 2023 4,46,133 4,46,133 3 2024 4,40,187 4,40,187 4 2025 5,11,198 5,11,198 Nature-wise: 2021 S. No. Nature of Grievances Received 1 Paid amount not refunded 49437 2 Delivery of Defective / Damage Product /Wrong Product 48816 3 Non-Delivery of Product 28496 4 Deficiency in Services 27776 5 Delay in Delivery of Product 10989 6 Product / Product Accessories Missing 10464 7 Not providing replacement as per policy 6276 8 Account blocked/service barred. 4484 9 Sale of Spurious / Fake Products 4238 10 Wrong Promises 3216 11 Others 30400 Nature-wise: 2022 S. No. Nature of Grievances Received 1 Paid amount not refunded 74,183 2 Deficiency in Services 52,479 3 Delivery of Defective / Damage Product 44,091 4 Delivery of Wrong Product 43,455 5 Non-Delivery of Product 35,823 6 Product / Product Accessories Missing 23,350 7 Delay in Delivery of Product 21,913 8 Not providing replacement as per policy 10,222 9 Account blocked/service barred. 7,782 10 Wrong Promises 7,726 11 Other 44,346Nature-wise: 2023 S. No. Nature of Grievances Received 1 Deficiency in Services 85,647 2 Paid amount not refunded 71,147 3 Delivery of Wrong Product 60,200 4 Delivery of Defective / Damage Product 59,102 5 Non-Delivery of Product 33,158 6 Product / Product Accessories Missing 25,922 7 Delay in Delivery of Product 25,304 8 Not providing replacement as per policy 12,210 9 Wrong Promises 9,770 10 Fraudulent Issue-Selling Fake/duplicate/counterfeit product 9,538 11 Others / Sector Enquiry 54,135 Nature-wise: 2024 S. No. Nature of Grievances Received 1 Delivery of Wrong Product 60,242 2 Paid amount not refunded 55,584 3 Deficiency in Services 62,527 4 Replacement / Refund not provided - As per policy 33,428 5 Delivery of Defective / Damage Product 58,181 6 Non-Delivery of Product 47,525 7 Delay in Delivery of Product 29,264 8 Product / Product Accessories Missing 16,705 9 Amount debited but not credited to beneficiary. 12,171 10 Wrong Promises 5,890 11 Others / Sector Enquiry 58,670 Nature-wise: 2025 S. No. Sector Received 1 Non-Delivery of Product 79,818 2 Delivery of Wrong Product 75,426 3 Replacement / Refund not provided - As per policy 61,056 4 Delivery of Defective / Damaged Product 60,969 5 Paid Amount not Refunded 53,364 6 Delay in Delivery of Product 43,446 7 Deficiency in Services (Customer Service Issue) 37,864 8 Product / Product Accessories Missing 19,815 9 Sale of Spurious /Selling Fake/duplicate/counterfeit product 15,762 10 Amount Debited Without Consumer Consent 12,614 11 Others / Sector Enquiry 51,064 Note- NCH has put in place a mechanism to address all the complaints received on the helpline portal. All these complaints during 2021 to 2025 have been disposed.

*****ANNEXURE-II ANNEXURE REFERRED TO IN REPLY TO PART (a) to (e) OF LOK SABHA UNSTARRED QUESTION NO.4041 FOR ANSWER ON 12.08.2026 REGARDING “DEFECTIVE PRODUCTS BY QUICK COMMERCE PLATFORMS”. ---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Platform-wise details of top ten companies against which the maximum number of complaints were received and disposed on NCH in e-commerce sector during the last five years.

Top ten companies against which the maximum number of complaints were registered on NCH in e-commerce sector during 2021.

S. No. Company Name Received 1 Flipkart.com 3,65,342 2 Amazon.in 1,24,776 3 Meesho.com 43,868 4 Netmeds.com (Jio Mart) 40,832 5 Myntra 39,368 6 Swiggy 18,526 7 Zomato 12,282 8 MakeMyTrip.com 10,792 9 Ola Cabs 9,966 10 Paytm.com 8,123 Top ten companies against which the maximum number of complaints were registered on NCH in e-commerce sector during 2022.

S. No. Company Name Received 1 Flipkart.com 1,33,062 2 Amazon.in 43,012 3 Netmeds.com 19,505 4 Meesho.com 17,180 5 Myntra 10,309 6 Swiggy 5,244 7 Travolook 4,758 8 Zomato 3,686 9 Ola Cabs 3,565 10 MakeMyTrip.com 3,493 Top ten companies against which the maximum number of complaints were registered on NCH in e-commerce sector during 2023 S. No. Company Name Received 1 Flipkart.com 1,72,282 2 Amazon.in 53,334 3 Meesho.com 23,281 4 Myntra 21,148 5 Netmeds.com 20,157 6 Swiggy 10,426 7 Zomato 6,260 8 Ola Cabs 4,345 9 MakeMyTrip.com 3,836 10 Paytm.com 3,612Top ten companies against which the maximum number of complaints were registered on NCH in e-commerce sector during 2024.

S. No. Company Name Received 1 Flipkart.com 1,31,788 2 Amazon.in 78,517 3 Myntra 24,450 4 Meesho.com 20,632 5 Netmeds.com 17,440 6 Zomato 5,328 7 Swiggy 3,632 8 Tata 1MG 3,625 9 Naaptol.com 3,360 10 VLE Bazaar 3,035 Top ten companies against which the maximum number of complaints were registered on NCH in e-commerce sector during 2025.

S. No. Company Name Received 1 Flipkart.com 1,33,566 2 Amazon.in 91,248 3 Meesho.com 29,284 4 Myntra 25,384 5 Netmeds.com 19,895 6 Zepto 5,774 7 Blinkit (Grofers.com) 5,102 8 Naaptol.com 4,079 9 VLE Bazaar 3,907 10 Nykaa 3,405 Note- NCH has put in place a mechanism to address all the complaints received on the helpline portal. All these complaints during 2021 to 2025 have been disposed.

*****ANNEXURE-III ANNEXURE REFERRED TO IN REPLY TO PART (a) to (e) OF LOK SABHA UNSTARRED QUESTION NO.4041 FOR ANSWER ON 12.08.2026 REGARDING “DEFECTIVE PRODUCTS BY QUICK COMMERCE PLATFORMS”. ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------ 31 e-commerce platforms that have voluntarily submitted their self-declaration letters confirming compliance with the Guidelines for Prevention and Regulation of Dark Patterns, 2023.

S. No. Company Name

1. Zepto Marketplace Pvt. Ltd. (Zepto)

2. Axelia Solutions Pvt. Ltd. (Pharmeasy)

3. Page Industries Private Limited (JOCKEY)

4. WILLIAM PENN Private Limited

5. Cleartrip Private Limited

6. Myntra Designs Private Limited

7. Flipkart Internet Private Limited

8. Duroflex Private Limited

9. Curaden India Private Limited

10. Walmart India Private Limited

11. Makemy Trip (India) Private Limited

12. Big Basket (Innovative Retail Concepts Private Limited)

13. Jio Mart ( Reliance Retail Limited)

14. Tira Beauty (Reliance Retail Limited)

15. Reliance Jewels (Reliance Retail Limited)

16. Ajio (Reliance Retail Limited)

17. Reliance Digital (Reliance Retail Limited)

18. Netmeds (Reliance Retail Limited)

19. Hamleys (Reliance Retail Limited)

20. MilkBasket (Reliance Retail Limited)

21. Swiggy Limited

22. TATA 1 mg

23. Zomato (Eternal Limited)

24. Blinkit (Blink Commerce Private Limited)

25. Ixigo (Le Travenues Technology Limited)

26. Meesho Limited

27. LOTS Wholesale Solution

28. Shopclues (Clues Network Pvt. Ltd.)

29. Amazon Seller Services Private Limited

30. Fiora Hypermarket Private Limited

31. Lenskart Solutions Limited *****