Amazon says removing non-compliant items after BIS raids at warehouses

E-commerce giant Amazon on Sunday said it is taking steps to maintain a safe selection of products for its customers, including removing non-compliant items.

The development comes after the Bureau of Indian Standards' (BIS) recently carried out search and seizure operations at multiple warehouse locations of leading e-commerce platforms, including Amazon and Flipkart.

In a statement, Amazon India said: "We require sellers of all products to comply with applicable laws, regulations and Amazon policies. We ensure our selection meets industry-accepted standards, and we develop innovative tools to prevent unsafe products from being listed. We take actions to maintain a safe selection for our customers, including removing noncompliant products, and outreach to sellers, manufacturers, and government agencies for additional information, when appropriate.

Curbing sale of non-compliant products

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 Union Consumer Affairs Ministry said in a statement on Saturday.

In the raid conducted on March 7 at an Amazon warehouse in Lucknow, the certification agency BIS seized 215 toys and 24 hand blenders, all of which lacked mandatory BIS certification, said the ministry.

Last month, 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, the ministry's statement said.

In a raid at Flipkart’s Gurugram warehouse, operated by Instakart Services Pvt Ltd, the BIS seized 534 stainless steel bottles (vacuum insulated), 134 toys, and 41 uncertified speakers.

"BIS's investigations into multiple violations on both Amazon and Flipkart traced non-certified products back to Techvision International Pvt Ltd," said the ministry.

According to the ministry's statement, the BIS also 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.

Non-certified products seized include brands such as Butterfly, Activa, Digismart, Cello Swift, and Inalsa among others.