Centre could ask e-tailers to refund duped customers

In an attempt to check the sale of counterfeit products online the Centre may soon ask ecommerce firms to refund money to customers who have been duped.

The move by the Department of Industrial Policy and Promotion (DIPP) might be toothless, for now, as the directive wouldn’t be mandatory for all e-tailers. A scheme might be developed on the lines of a charge-back policy followed by credit card companies globally, a senior DIPP official said.

The department, in collaboration with the European Union (EU), will hold a national meet to discuss the problem and what enforcement agencies should do, he said.

Major e-commerce players such as Flipkart, Snapdeal, and Amazon have committed to refund money or replace a product within a maximum of 30 days, subject to conditions. But, even on these platforms, many products may remain outside the ambit of such refund policies. Also, refunds are released only after a customer is able to prove that the goods are fakes.

Most e-commerce companies question the need for such a policy. They say the existing company policies address the issue. “As a responsible online marketplace, we always walk the extra mile to weed out counterfeit products from our platform. Any government initiative to protect consumer rights is a welcome move. Shopclues’ policy pertaining to protection of intellectual property has a mechanism to report fake products. We look forward to further consultation in this regard with stakeholders.” Ambar Deep, vice-president at ShopClues, said.

“While we are yet to conduct a conclusive study, cases of counterfeit products being sold on e-commerce platforms have risen, according to industry estimates,” a senior DIPP official said.

Initial estimates from the department of consumer affairs’ complaint portal showed a rise in numbers, another official said.

Last year, US-based athletic footwear brand Skechers had filed cases at Delhi High Court against Flipkart and four other firms for allegedly selling fake products.

Patent applications

The DIPP is taking several steps, including hiring more manpower, as it hopes to dispose of over 200,000 pending patent applications in two years, an official said on Monday. The official also said filing of patent applications by Indian companies in the country had increased, a PTI report said.

Over 232,000 patent applications were pending with the Indian Patent Office as of November 30, 2017.