E-commerce major Amazon India on Wednesday has been penalised by the consumer affairs department over non-compliance of packaging norms where 'country of origin' details have to be displayed on packaged products sold on its platform, senior government sources told CNBC-TV18.

As a first offence, Amazon India has been asked to pay a fine of Rs 25,000 within a week of receiving the notice. The notice was issued on Friday, sources privy to the developments told CNBC-TV18.

The consumer affairs ministry had in October sent notices to both Amazon and Flipkart on complaints of not displaying 'country of origin' of products on their platforms.

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Officials sources said Amazon was not able to show evidence of display of ‘country of origin’ on several products and hence attracted the penalty. Walmart-owned Flipkart, on its part, responded with evidence, and hence has not been fined, the officials said.

The Legal Metrology (Packaged Commodity) rules, 2011, which came into effect from January 2018 for e-commerce platforms, mandates displaying country of origin on packaged products. As per the rules, the fine for a second offence is Rs 50000, while subsequent offences could lead to jail term.

Amazon and Flipkart had both informed the government that they have removed many sellers from their e-commerce platforms due to non-compliance with 'country of origin' norms in recent months. However, it was not clear how many sellers have seen de-listed from the two platforms.

Amazon and Flipkart did not respond to CNBC-TV18 queries.

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While many e-commerce companies had not fully abided by the rules under the Legal Metrology Act since 2018, the issue assumed higher significance following the India-China border tensions over recent months.

In the letter sent to both companies last month, the ministry had demanded 'explanation' and to furnish details on the nature of ownership of the seller firms, their GST registration certificate and other such details.

Director, Legal Metrology authority has also written to all controllers of states/UTs to ensure compliance by e-commerce companies.

(Edited by : Jomy)

First Published:Nov 25, 2020 7:46 PM IST