Amazon ₹1 lakh fine: CCPA flags sale of sweets as ‘Shri Ram Mandir Ayodhya Prasad’

Amazon Seller Services Private Limited has been fined ₹1 lakh by the Central Consumer Protection Authority (CCPA) for allowing commercially produced sweets to be listed and sold online under the label “Shri Ram Mandir Ayodhya Prasad”, Livelaw reported.

The consumer watchdog said the listings amounted to misleading advertisements and could mislead devotees into believing the products were authorised temple prasad.

The CCPA said the phrase “Shri Ram Mandir Ayodhya Prasad” has a specific religious meaning for devotees, referring to food offered to and blessed by the deity at the Ram Mandir in Ayodhya.

It found that using the expression for ordinary confectionery without authorisation from the Shri Ram Janmabhoomi Teerth Kshetra Trust amounted to a misleading trade practice.

Why did the CCPA fine Amazon?

The action followed a representation by the Confederation of All India Traders, which alleged that Amazon was facilitating the sale of sweets falsely presented as being associated with the Shri Ram Janmabhoomi Mandir, LiveLaw reported.

According to the CCPA, the products had no authorisation, affiliation or endorsement from the temple or the Shri Ram Janmabhoomi Teerth Kshetra Trust. The listings were available for delivery across India, giving them access to a large consumer base.

The authority also noted that one seller, Chandu Trading Company, generated gross merchandise sales of ₹25,26,309 through the disputed listings. Amazon also earned commissions or fees through its marketplace operations.

"The commercial appropriation of this phrase for ordinary confectionery products, without any authorization from the Shri Ram Janmabhoomi Teerth Kshetra Trust, constitutes not just a misleading trade practice under the CP Act but an affront to the religious sentiments of crores of consumers." Livelaw quoted.

CCPA flags timing of Amazon listings

The consumer authority said the listings appeared on Amazon before the Pran Pratishtha ceremony at the Shri Ram Mandir on January 22, 2024.

The CCPA issued a show-cause notice to Amazon on January 19, three days before the consecration ceremony. It said this was a period of heightened religious interest and that Amazon, given its automated monitoring systems and seller compliance mechanisms, could not claim to have been unaware of the sensitivity surrounding products carrying the name of the temple.

The authority said Amazon removed the listings only after receiving the notice and subsequently relied on its intermediary status.

What has CCPA ordered Amazon to do?

Along with the ₹1 lakh penalty, the CCPA has directed Amazon to prevent products falsely claiming to be prasad, prasadam, mahaprasad, bhog or similar religious offerings from being listed without documentary proof of authorisation from the relevant religious institution.

The framework currently covers 10 major religious institutions and shrines, including the Shri Ram Janmabhoomi Mandir, Tirumala Tirupati Devasthanam, Shri Mata Vaishno Devi Shrine, Shri Kashi Vishwanath Temple, Shri Jagannath Temple, Shri Kedarnath Temple, Shri Badrinath Temple, Shri Somnath Temple, Shri Dwarkadhish Temple and Shri Mahakaleshwar Temple.

Amazon has also been directed to prominently provide seller information, including names, addresses, customer care numbers and grievance officer details, in accordance with the E-Commerce Rules, 2020, Livelaw report stated.

The company must strengthen its proposed due diligence system, including keyword-based detection and takedown mechanisms, and periodically expand its checks to cover additional religious institutions.

Amazon given 15 days to pay ₹1 lakh penalty

The CCPA imposed the ₹1 lakh penalty for publication of misleading advertisements in violation of the Consumer Protection Act, 2019 and E-Commerce Rules, 2020.

"The CCPA hereby imposes a penalty of 1,00,000/- (Rupees One Lakh only) on the opposite party for publication of misleading advertisements on its platform, in violation of Rule 4(3) and Rule 5(3)(a) of the E-Commerce Rules, 2020 read with Section 2(28) and Section 2(9) of the CP Act, 2019. The Opposite Party shall deposit the penalty amount to the ССРА within 15 days from the date of this Order," the authority said.

The CCPA has reserved the right to assess Amazon's compliance and the effectiveness of its new framework after three to four months.