Aimed at preventing the sale of unsafe goods to consumers through online marketplaces, the Centre has finalised a safety pledge under which the ecommerce companies will be expected to recall any hazardous items that are being sold on their platforms within 36 hours of being informed, as per the Consumer Affairs Secretary Nidhi Khare.
“The Department of Consumer Affairs (DoCA) finalised a safety Pledge in consultation with all the stakeholders as part of its one of the 100 days action plan to prioritise consumer safety. The safety pledge is a voluntary commitment of online platforms with respect to the safety of goods sold to consumers,” as per the official statement from the DoCA.
The Secretary also stated that these ecommerce companies will also have to cooperate with the officials from the government to identify the sellers who are selling the unsafe products. The committee constituted by the ministry is considering various proposals to draft the safety pledge.
Including members from major ecommerce platforms, voluntary consumer associations, industry bodies and National Law Universities, the panel is expected to submit its report in two weeks.
“The objective of this pledge is to serve as a public commitment by ecommerce platforms to prioritise consumer safety, enhance confidence among consumers while shopping online, encourage platforms to go beyond their legal obligations to improve consumer safety and augment innovation and new approaches to promote safety compliances,” as per the statement from the ministry.
The secretary stated that the guidelines to prohibit green-washing and misleading advertisements by the coaching centres are in their final stage and are expected to be introduced soon. Pointing out the fact that the department has received complaints of health washing, the Secretary stated that it will start working on formulating norms in that regard.
