Bureau of Indian Standards cracks down on e-commerce platforms Amazon, Flipkart

In a major crackdown, the Bureau of Indian Standards (BIS), the country’s top product certification agency, has conducted search and seizure operations at multiple warehouse locations of leading e-commerce platforms, including Amazon and Flipkart, the government said on Sunday.

“To curb the distribution of non-compliant products through e-commerce platforms, the BIS conducted search and seizure operations in cities such as Lucknow, Gurugram, and Delhi,” the government said.

In a statement, the Consumer Affairs Ministry said that in the raid conducted on March 7 at an Amazon warehouse in Lucknow, BIS seized 215 toys and 24 hand blenders — all of which lacked mandatory BIS certification.

The statement said a similar operation at an Amazon warehouse in Gurugram resulted in the seizure of 58 aluminium foils, 34 metallic water bottles, 25 toys, 20 hand blenders, 7 PVC cables, two food mixers and one speaker — all found to be non-certified in February.

“Similarly, in a raid at a Flipkart warehouse in Gurugram operated by Instakart Services Pvt Ltd, the BIS seized 534 stainless steel bottles (vacuum insulated), 134 toys, and 41 uncertified speakers,” the Ministry shared. It also revealed that the agency’s investigations into multiple violations on both Amazon and Flipkart traced non-certified products back to Techvision International Pvt Ltd.

Acting on this lead, the government said the BIS conducted raids at two different Techvision International facilities in Delhi, uncovering approximately 7,000 electric water heaters, 4,000 electric food mixers, 95 electric room heaters and 40 gas stoves without BIS certification.

The seized non-certified products include brands like Digismart, Activa, Inalsa, Cello Swift, and Butterfly, among others.

Following the seizure of material, the BIS initiated legal action under the BIS Act, 2016, to hold the responsible entities accountable.

Divulging that the BIS has already filed two court cases against M/s Techvision International Pvt Ltd for violations of Sections 17(1) and 17(3) of the BIS Act, 2016, the Ministry said additional cases were in the process of being filed for other seizure operations. Under Section 17 of the BIS Act, 2016, defaulters face a penalty not less than Rs 2 lakh, which may extend up to 10 times the value of the goods sold or offered for sale. Furthermore, depending on the severity of the violation, offenders may also face imprisonment of up to two years.

“The BIS is actively conducting market surveillance to ensure that consumer products available in the market, including on e-commerce platforms, comply with applicable safety and quality standards,” the statement read, while informing that as part of surveillance, the BIS purchases various consumer products and subjects them to rigorous testing to verify compliance with the prescribed standards.

According to the Ministry, the products under market surveillance include commonly used consumer goods such as domestic pressure cookers, hand-held blenders, food mixers, electric irons, room heaters, PVC cables, gas stoves, toys, two-wheeler helmets, switches, sockets, and aluminium foils for food packaging.

The Union Government had made BIS certification mandatory for these products in the public interest, while considering the potential hazards posed by substandard quality products.

“During its surveillance activities, BIS has identified that several non-certified products are being sold on e-commerce platforms such as Amazon, Flipkart, Meesho, Myntra, and BigBasket even though BIS certification has been made mandatory for these products,” the statement said. It noted that the non-certified products include those that do not bear the ISI Mark or bear an ISI Mark with an invalid licence number (CM/L number). These non-certified products pose significant safety risks to consumers as they have not undergone independent third-party testing to ensure they meet minimum safety and performance standards.

Meanwhile, the BIS has urged consumers to make informed purchasing decisions by utilising the BIS Care app. This app provides consumers with crucial information on products that require mandatory BIS certification and allows them to verify the authenticity of a product's certification.

“Additionally, consumers can use the BIS Care app to lodge complaints about products that do not bear the ISI Mark or report quality concerns regarding BIS-certified products,” it added.