The Delhi District Consumer Disputes Redressal Commission recently directed Amazon India, selling products online through M/s Amazon Seller Services Private Limited to furnish a foolproof transparent grievance redressal mechanism for customers and display on its website the complete details of the officers dealing with grievances of the customers. 

The order was passed by Rashmi Bansal, member of District Consumer Disputes Redressal Commission. The Consumer Court also ordered Amazon and M/s Appario Retail Private Limited, Gurgaon to pay a compensation of Rs 35,000 to the complainant for its deficient service and unfair trade practice, which caused mental agony and harassment to the complainant.

It further directed Amazon India to make provisions for handing over the receipt of the pick-up item to the customers in all cases ensuring safe and secure pick-up from its customers. The order came on a complaint filed before District Consumer Disputes Redressal Commission by Anil Kumar and Brijesh Kumar, alleging that the e-commerce platform did not provide an adequate effective redressal mechanism to customers. The complainant said that there was a delay of 17 months in processing the refund for a defective laptop sold to him. 

After going through the complaint, the District Consumer Forum found that Amazon has been indulging in unfair trade practices and does not provide adequate grievance redressal mechanisms and phone numbers of the concerned persons which leads to deficiency in service. The complainant mentioned that he had purchased a ASUS ROG Zephyrus G14 laptop for a sum of Rs 77,990 from Amazon in November 2021 and found that the laptop was defective. Subsequently, he raised a refund request and picked up the laptop from him.

The complaint alleged that though the laptop was picked up by Amazon, no acknowledgment slip was given suggesting that the pick up was completed. It further added that the complainant followed up with the platform on multiple occasions to enquire about the pick up as it was not shown in their website. 

Furthermore, the complainant also highlighted that the grievance redressal mechanism of Amazon is very poor and inefficient as the website neither displays contact details of the senior officers nor contact addresses of the head office of Amazon. He noted that Amazon plays a pivotal role in selling, storing, warehouse and logistic support and that the said product is a part of Fulfilled by Amazon service, implying that the product is being stored, packed and dispatched by Amazon. 

The Supreme Court has on Friday allowed 3 weeks’ time to file a counter on the request of Additional Solicitor General S.V. Raju in the matter of Hoarding of Oxygen Concentrators filed against the order passed by the Delhi High Court wherein the High Court had dismissed the writ petition filed by Matrix Cellular (International) Service Ltd seeking immediate release of its oxygen concentrators seized by Delhi Police.

The matter was listed before the Division Bench of Justice R.F. Nariman and Justice B.R. Gavai. The Bench has further provided 1 week time for filing rejoinder. The issue arose when a raid was conducted on May 5 by the SHO of Lodhi Colony police station while patrolling near Nege Ju restaurant in Central Market, Lodhi Colony, New Delhi. In a search, 32 boxes of oxygen concentrators of 9 and 5 litres capacity; a box of thermal scanners and KN-95 masks were recovered.

The FIR was lodged under Section 3/7 of the Essential Commodities Act, under Section 3 of the Epidemic Diseases Act, and Section 420/188/ 120B/34 IPC, and four accused persons were also arrested therein. Later in the investigation 387 oxygen concentrators, 112 boxes containing KN-95 marks, 95 Oximeters were recovered from Matrix Cellular International Services Private Limited, 7, Khullar Farm House, Mandi Road, Fatehpur Beri, New Delhi. According to the Police, the accused persons disclosed regarding black marketing of oxygen concentrators and other Covid-19 treatment-related equipment from various sources and supply/ sold to the highest payer and needy person.

It has been alleged that in 2020 due to the global pandemic the work of the petitioner company was affected and they started dealing in Covid-19 related items and imported oximeter, KN-95 mask, and also procured the rest of the articles locally and sold them to the dealers and corporates. The allegations are they are selling the oxygen concentrators to the needy person with a profit/margin of Rs 40,000 to Rs 42,000 per piece.

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The counsel on behalf of the petitioner had submitted before the High Court that the petitioner is dealing in oxygen concentrators and not oxygen cylinders and the equipment which are seized from the petitioner are sold over the counter and is not a regulated/controlled item. These items are being sold by Amazon and other online portals and the acts of the petitioner have been carved out separately is the mischief of the Investigating Officer concerned.

The High Court had dismissed the writ petition observing, “The act of the petitioner is in violation of an Office Memorandum, Ministry of Chemicals and Fertilizers, Government of India, of dated 29.06.2020 (supra) which had directed the petitioners and others like him, selling oxygen concentrators, to not increase prices of oxygen concentrators by more than 10% of the maximum retail price in a year of the Drugs Pricing Control Order, 2013.”

The Delhi High Court has sought the response of the Ministry of Electronics and Information Technology (MEITY) and Amazon India in a plea seeking prohibition on the sale of products from applications banned by the Central Government in the Indian digital marketplace. 

The Bench comprising Chief Justice D.N. Patel and Justice Jyoti Singh issued a notice in the petition highlighting the sale of Shein products on Amazon.in. Senior Counsel Vivek Raj Singh, appearing for the petitioner, informed the Court that in June 2020, 59 Chinese applications were banned by the Government of India, including Shein, to protect the integrity and sovereignty of India. He submitted that for a Prime Day Sale scheduled for July 26 and 27, Amazon.in has advertised for a sale of products from Shein on its platform.

He further submitted that a representation was made to the concerned Ministry to take appropriate steps as the application is banned, upon which the concerned Ministry asked for concrete suggestions from the petitioner. In lieu thereof, the petitioner responded with suggestions including partial suspension, ban on the said advertisement; but nothing has been done by the Ministry as yet. He stated that the onus is on the Ministry to see that the said advertisement does not go through. 

The matter is slated for August 20. The PIL has been filed by one Ananttika Singh through Advocates Preet Singh Oberoi and Amer Vaid. The plea avers that the Ministry of Information and Technology, vide notification dated June 29, 2020, temporarily banned the application and platform operated, owned, and controlled by the brand Shein on account of alleged misuse of data collected from Indian customers, thereby endangering the interest and sovereignty of India. Subsequently, in January 2021, the application was permanently banned from operation in India by the concerned Ministry. 

The plea further avers that an advertisement was released by Amazon.in on July 12, 2021 announcing the Prime Day Sale scheduled to be held on its platform. The advertisement categorically mentioned about the sale of Shein products on the website of Amazon.in as part of the sale.

At this backdrop, the petitioner made a representation on July 21 to the concerned authorities highlighting that the sale of Shein products through Amazon.in is contrary to the notification issued by the Ministry.  In addition, it was also represented that on account of Amazon’s privacy policy dated October 21, 2020 wherein Amazon could share the data collected from users of its platform to the registered sellers, it could be possible for Shein to access the personal data of millions of Indian citizens who purchase its products from Amazon. However, no action has yet been taken upon her representation.

The plea thus reads: “The Respondent No.2 (Ministry of Electronics and Information Technology) and the concerned authorities whilst taking cognizance of the same, have failed to take appropriate steps in order to ban/suspend/regulate the entry of “Shein” into the Indian digital marketplace. Once it is has been established that the entry of “Shein” and its products enabled access to information generated by computer source, which was prejudicial to the interest and sovereignty of India, it cannot be allowed to circumvent the law by using a third party platform akin to Respondent No.1 (Amazon India).”

“In the event that “Shein” is not prohibited from selling its products via the “prime sale” on Amazon.in, it could severely impinge on the integrity and sovereignty of this nation,” the plea further adds.

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In this light, the plea prays for a direction to the Ministry of Electronics and Information Technology to take necessary steps to prohibit the entry of product of ‘Shein’ in the Indian digital marketplace through Amazon India. Furthermore, it seeks a direction to Amazon India to suspend partnership with any banned entity till such ban is not lifted by the Indian Government; as also to partially suspend partnership with ‘Shein’ till Amazon can assure the Government that no data would be shared by it in any form with ‘Shein’.

In addition, the plea seeks the appointment of a third-party committee by the Government of India, at the cost of Amazon.in, to make audits on the flow of data of the India consumers to Shein.