Centre issues order against Amazon, Flipkart and others for selling seat belt alarm stopper clips, directs to delist the

The Central Consumer Protection Authority (CCPA) has issued order against five e-commerce platforms for selling seat belt alarm stopper clips. The consumer body has further asked the e-tailers to delist such clips from their websites. 

CCPA found that such clips were being blatantly sold on several e-commerce platforms. After investigating the issue, the authority sent orders to Amazon, Flipkart, Snapdeal, Shopclues and Meesho to take down the listings of seat belt alarm stopper clips, a Ministry of Consumer Affairs release said.

CCPA passed orders against the five e-commerce players for violation of consumer rights and unfair trade practice under the Consumer Protection Act, 2019, it said.

The Ministry of Highways and Transport (MoRTH) had highlighted the issue of the blatant sale of car seat belt alarm stopper clips and requested for action on errant vendors or online platforms and issuance of an advisory.

"It is imperative to say that using car seat belt alarm stopper clips can also be a hurdle for consumers seeking claim amounts in the cases of motor insurance policies, wherein an insurance company may deny the claim by citing the negligence of the claimant for using such clips. On the other hand, using a seat belt acts as a restraint that allows the airbag to provide proper cushion and not hit the passengers at full force which also works as a protective shield in case of collisions," the release said.

It further stated that compliance reports were submitted by all five e-commerce entities after taking note of the Directions issued by CCPA. As a result, about 13,118 listings of car seat belt alarm stopper clips have been delisted from the e-commerce platforms.

As per a latest report published by MoRTH, more than 16,000 persons were killed in road accidents in 2021 due to not wearing seat belts, of which 8,438 were drivers and the remaining 7,959 were passengers. In the wake of this data, CCPA's latest action taken assumes significance.

(With inputs from agencies)