Govt cracks down on e-comm platforms for unsafe, non-certified products; BIS raids Amazon, Flipkart warehouses

The federal government’s Bureau of Indian Standards (BIS), has issued stern notices to main e-commerce platforms — together with Amazon, BigBasket, and Flipkart — for violating obligatory certification norms. BIS, which features beneath the Ministry of Shopper Affairs, Meals and Public Distributions, raided Amazon and Flipkart warehouses and seized merchandise missing the BIS certification.

Following the seizure of fabric, BIS initiated authorized motion beneath the BIS Act 2016 to carry the accountable entities accountable. BIS filed two court docket instances towards the entities for violations of Sections 17(1) and 17(3) of the BIS Act, 2016.

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BIS raid Amazon, Flipkart warehouses: What did it seize?

Throughout a raid on March 7 at an Amazon warehouse in Lucknow, BIS seized 215 toys and 24 hand blenders that lacked the mandatory BIS certification. An identical operation on the e-commerce big’s Gurugram facility in February yielded 58 aluminium foils, 34 metallic water bottles, 25 toys, 20 hand blenders, seven PVC cables, two meals mixers and 1 speaker — with out correct certification.

Authorities confiscated 534 stainless-steel vacuum-insulated bottles, 134 toys, and 41 audio system that failed to fulfill the required requirements at a Flipkart warehouse in Gurugram operated by Instakart Providers Pvt Ltd. The BIS investigations revealed that many non-certified merchandise had been linked to Techvision Worldwide Pvt Ltd.

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Following this lead, subsequent raids at two of the corporate’s Delhi services uncovered roughly 7,000 electrical water heaters, 4,000 electrical meals mixers, 95 electrical room heaters, and 40 fuel stoves with out BIS certification.

In accordance with the ministry, the seized gadgets included merchandise from manufacturers comparable to Digismart, Activa, Inalsa, Cello Swift, and Butterfly. “BIS has filed two court docket instances towards Techvision Worldwide for violations of the BIS Act, 2016. Extra instances are within the strategy of being filed for different seizure operations,” the ministry famous.

Govt penalises e-comm operators for violations

Offenders face penalties beginning at ₹2 lakh, which can prolong as much as ten occasions the worth of non-compliant items offered or supplied on the market. In extreme instances, violators might face imprisonment of as much as two years beneath Part 17 of the BIS Act. 

The requirements authority has issued notices to main e-commerce platforms, together with Amazon, Flipkart, Meesho, Myntra, and BigBasket, directing them to make sure that solely BIS-certified merchandise are listed the place certification is obligatory. Throughout its surveillance actions, BIS has recognized a number of non-certified merchandise offered on these e-commerce platforms.

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Non-certified merchandise embrace these that don’t bear the ISI mark or an ISI mark with an invalid licence quantity. These non-certified merchandise pose security dangers to customers as they haven’t undergone impartial third-party testing to make sure they meet minimal security and efficiency requirements. Shoppers have been suggested to make use of the BIS Care App to confirm product certification authenticity and report non-compliant gadgets.

The seizures spotlight rising issues over shopper security as quite a few non-certified merchandise proceed to be offered on-line regardless of authorities rules requiring obligatory certification for gadgets like strain cookers, electrical home equipment, and kids’s toys. BIS emphasised that market surveillance actions will proceed as a part of ongoing efforts to guard shopper pursuits and guarantee compliance with security requirements.