Govt tightens e-commerce rules on discounts, search, sponsored listings

New Delhi: E-commerce platforms will face tighter obligations on how they display discounts, rank search results and identify sponsored listings under new government rules aimed at strengthening consumer protection and improving transparency in digital marketplaces.

The Department of Consumer Affairs has revamped the consumer protection rules for e-commerce, introducing the Consumer Protection (E-Commerce) (Amendment) Rules, 2026, it said in a statement on Thursday. The new rules will replace the Consumer Protection (E-Commerce) Rules, 2020. It provides the framework for safeguarding consumers against unfair trade practices in the e-commerce sector.

The government has introduced specific requirements governing how platforms display prices and search results. “Where an e-commerce entity announces a price reduction, it will have to display both the reduced price and the prior price. The rules define the prior price as the lowest price at which the goods or services were offered during the 30 days preceding the announcement,” it said.

E-commerce entities will also be prohibited from manipulating search results in a manner that misleads users or adversely affects the relevance of results to the user's search query.

“With the changing consumer buying patterns and the expanding scope of e-commerce, it has become important to strengthen the regulatory framework to address emerging concerns in the digital marketplace,” said Nidhi Khare, secretary, Department of Consumer Affairs.

“The new norms seek to enhance transparency, accountability and consumer protection while ensuring a balanced regulatory environment for the growth of the e-commerce sector,” Khare said.

A senior executive at a leading e-commerce platform told Mint that the company is analysing the changes and is not yet in a position to comment on them. Queries sent on Thursday evening to the spokespersons of Amazon, Flipkart, Reliance Retail, Zomato, Zepto, Tanishq and BigBasket remained unanswered till press time.

The new rules will come into force on 1 January 2027, and the amendments introduce more specific requirements for e-commerce entities covering consumer grievances, pricing disclosures, search results, sponsored listings, dark patterns and seller information.

The amendments assume significance as India's e-commerce market is projected to grow from around $140 billion currently to up to $300 billion by 2030, according to a February 2026 report by Boston Consulting Group (BCG). The number of online shoppers is also projected to rise from 280-300 million in 2025 to 420-440 million by 2030.

According to experts, the amendments bring greater specificity to the obligations of e-commerce platforms, particularly in areas such as price disclosures, sponsored listings, search rankings and dark patterns.

“This is significant from a consumer protection and regulatory perspective, as the amendments seek to bring greater transparency and accountability to digital practices that can influence consumer choice. Clearer disclosures on pricing, sponsored listings and search results, coupled with stronger compliance requirements should provide consumers with greater transparency while also imposing more clearly defined obligations on e-commerce entities,” said Vijay Kumar, partner, Fox Mandal, a law firm.

The new rules come at a time when e-commerce-related complaints form a significant share of consumer grievances. During 2025, the National Consumer Helpline (NCH) received 17,71,622 complaints, of which 5,11,196, or around 29%, related to the e-commerce sector, according to the Department of Consumer Affairs.

A key change in the revamped rules requires every e-commerce entity to become a partner in the convergence process of the NCH, strengthening the integration of e-commerce platforms with the national consumer grievance redressal mechanism, it said.

Under the amended rules, every e-commerce entity will also have to provide a complainant with a copy of the complaint as recorded by its grievance officer. The provision is aimed at giving consumers greater visibility into how their complaints have been recorded and handled.

In another measure aimed at improving transparency in online shopping, sponsored listings will have to be identified through clear and prominent disclosures.

The amended rules also strengthen requirements relating to dark patterns, which refer to practices in digital interfaces that can influence or manipulate consumer choices and they will have to comply with the Guidelines for Prevention and Regulation of Dark Patterns, 2023, undertake a yearly self-audit and prominently display a certificate of compliance.

The amendments seek to address emerging consumer concerns in the digital marketplace while taking into account the need for ease of doing business and a balanced approach that protects consumer interests without imposing unnecessary regulatory burdens on e-commerce entities, the department said.

Marketplace e-commerce entities will have to provide consumers with key seller and product information to enable informed purchasing decisions. This will include information such as best before/use before dates, return and refund terms, warranty, delivery and payment details.

For imported goods, platforms will also have to disclose importer details and the country of origin, it said.

The rules further state that marketplace e-commerce entities cannot use consumer information for specified purposes without express consent.

Marketplace platforms will also be prohibited from collecting bundled fees for services unrelated to the e-commerce platform, subject to the specified exception for loyalty or membership programmes.