November - Newsletter 2021

The Ministry of Consumer Affairs, Food and Public Distribution, acting through the Department of Consumer Affairs, has notified the Consumer Protection (E-Commerce) (Amendment) Rules, 2026, vide Notification No. CG-DL-E-10092026-276125, published in the Gazette of India, Extraordinary, Part II, Section 3, Sub-section (i), dated 9 September 2026.

On September 9, 2026, the Ministry of Consumer Affairs, Food and Public Distribution (Department of Consumer Affairs) notified the Consumer Protection (E-Commerce) (Amendment) Rules, 2026 (“Amendment Rules”), amending the Consumer Protection (E-Commerce) Rules, 2020 (“E-Commerce Rules”). The Amendment Rules will come into force on January 1, 2027.

The visual interface of ecommerce platforms increasingly influences how consumers select, purchase, subscribe to and cancel goods and services. Before the issuance of a framework specifically addressing dark patterns, the Consumer Protection Act 2019 (“Consumer Protection Act”) and the Consumer Protection (E-Commerce) Rules 2020 (“E-Commerce Rules”) already prohibited unfair trade practices in e-commerce.

The Legal Metrology (Packaged Commodities) Amendment Rules, 2026 introduce significant compliance obligations for e-commerce platforms, particularly regarding the disclosure of Country of Origin and other product information. This article analyses the key amendments, their implications for manufacturers, importers, and online marketplaces, and the broader objectives of strengthening consumer protection in the digital marketplace.

India's food safety regulator has introduced new labelling amendments that simplify compliance for infant nutrition products and small packages while strengthening traceability requirements for non-retail containers. Meanwhile, the Supreme Court is pushing for front-of-pack warning labels on products high in fat, sugar, and salt, raising critical questions about implementation thresholds, consumer accessibility, and the balance between public health and industry concerns.

India's Supreme Court is examining the food regulator's proposed front-of-pack labelling framework for packaged foods, which would require red hexagonal warnings on products exceeding specified levels of sugar, salt and fat. The Court has raised critical questions about nutrient thresholds, label design, implementation timelines and practical implications for food businesses, while the final requirements remain subject to judicial determination and subsequent regulatory process.

On 9 September 2026, the Department of Consumer Affairs, Ministry of Consumer Affairs, Food and Public Distribution, notified the Consumer Protection (E-Commerce) (Amendment) Rules, 2026 (2026 Amendment), amending the Consumer Protection (E-Commerce) Rules 2020 (E-Commerce Rules).

The Department of Consumer Affairs, Government of India, has amended the Consumer Protection (E-Commerce) Rules, 2020 through the Consumer Protection (E-Commerce) (Amendment) Rules, 2026, with the objective of strengthening consumer protection while facilitating a transparent and balanced regulatory framework for the e-commerce sector.

For most of the last decade, e-commerce compliance in India has been a question of what a platform says: the disclosures on a product page, the terms in a policy, the identity of a seller. The Consumer Protection (E-Commerce) (Amendment) Rules, 2026 change the question. They reach into how a platform is built and how it behaves, its ranking logic, its discount displays, its interface design and its use of consumer data, and make those matters of compliance rather than of commercial discretion. Notified on 9 September 2026 and effective from 1 January 2027, the amendments give businesses a defined, and short, runway to adapt.

The Consumer Protection Act, 2019 (the Act) received the President's assent on 9 August 2019 which has replaced the Consumer Protection Act, 1986.