Selling sweets as 'Ram Mandir Prasad': Centre sends Amazon notice

New Delhi: The Union government issued notice to Amazon for allegedly selling sweets as 'Shri Ram Mandir Ayodhya Prasad' on its website. The notice was sent by the Central Consumer Protection Authority (CCPA), an arm of the Union Consumer Affairs Ministry, PTI reported.

The CCPA has sought a response from Amazon within seven days from the issuance of a notice, failing which necessary action will be initiated against them under the provisions of the Consumer Protection Act 2019, an official statement said.

Headed by Chief Commissioner Rohit Kumar Singh, the CCPA has "initiated action against Amazon Seller Services Pvt Ltd, concerning the sale of sweets on www.amazon.in under the name 'Shri Ram Mandir Ayodhya Prasad." The action has been initiated based on a representation made by the Confederation of All India Traders (CAIT) alleging that Amazon is engaging in deceptive trade practices involving the sale of sweets under the guise of 'Shri Ram Mandir Ayodhya Prasad'.

The CCPA has observed that various sweets/food products are available for sale on the Amazon e-commerce platform (www.amazon.in), claiming it to be "Shri Ram Mandir Ayodhya Prasad".

"Enabling the sale of food products online that make false representations misleads consumers regarding the genuine characteristics of the product.

"Such practice falsely influences consumers to make purchase decisions they might not have otherwise taken, had the accurate attributes of the product been mentioned," an official statement said.

It may be mentioned that under Rule 4(3) of the Consumer Protection (e-commerce) Rules, 2020, no e-commerce entity shall adopt any unfair trade practice, whether in the course of business on its platform or otherwise.