BIS cracks down on Amazon, Flipkart for selling ‘unsafe’ items
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 like Lucknow, Gurugram and Delhi,” the government said.
In a statement, the Consumer Affairs Ministry said in the raid conducted on March 7 at an Amazon warehouse in Lucknow, the certification agency 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, BIS seized 534 stainless steel bottles (vacuum insulated), 134 toys and 41 uncertified speakers,” the ministry shared, while revealing that the BIS’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 BIS conducted raids at two different Techvision International facilities in Delhi, uncovering 7,000 electric water heaters, 4,000 electric food mixers, 95 electric room heaters and 40 gas stoves without BIS certification.
Non-certified products seized include brands such as Digismart, Activa, Inalsa, Cello Swift, and Butterfly, among others.
Following the seizure of material, BIS initiated legal action under the BIS Act, 2016, to hold the responsible entities accountable.
