B2B Marketplaces Are Not Exempted Under Consumer Protection Act 2019

The Central Consumer Protection Authority (CCPA) imposed a penalty of Rs 10 lakhs on Dial4Trade Technologies Private Limited (Dial4Trade) for listing a regulated product, i.e., Ammonium Nitrate, on its e-commerce platform without any regulatory disclosures or warnings. The CCPA found Dial4Trade in violation of the Consumer Protection Act 2019 (the Act), Consumer Protection (E-Commerce) Rules, 2020 (E-Commerce Rules) read with the Explosives Act, 1884 and Ammonium Nitrate Rules, 2012.

The Order is significant as CCPA has held that even if a platform is a B2B marketplace, it falls within the consumer protection measures contemplated by the consumer protection laws as the definition of 'e-commerce entity' under the E-Commerce Rules is not confined to platforms dealing with retail consumers alone.  Specifically, Rule 4(3) and Rule 5 of the E-Commerce Rules cast obligations upon every marketplace e-commerce entity, without any exceptions being carved out for platforms that self-designate