Cloudtail India was fined Rs 1 lakh by the Central Consumer Protection Authority (CCPA) for violating the quality control orders and consumer rights.
The company is also required to give consumers a price break on 1,033 pressure cookers, and it has 45 days to produce a compliance report.
An order for unfair trade practise was issued against Cloudtail, a retailer that sells pressure cookers on an e-commerce platform, for selling home pressure cookers in violation of the requirements outlined in the Domestic Pressure Cooker (Quality Control) Order, 2020.
A statement from CCPA headed by Nidhi Khare, chief commissioner said, “The company was also directed to pay a penalty of Rs 100,000 for selling domestic pressure cookers to consumers in violation of mandatory standards prescribed under the QCO and violating the rights of consumers.”
Cloudtail confirmed the suspension of pressure cooker import following Quality Control Orders in a response to CCPA. The corporation did not halt the sale, according to the consumer protection agencies.
The CCPA statement said, “In fact, this submission evidently indicated that despite being aware of the QCO, the company was still selling such pressure cookers to consumers at large.”
After receiving notice from the QCO, Cloudtail sold 1,033 units of pressure cookers that did not meet the required specifications through the Amazon e-commerce platform, it said.
The suo-moto action was brought by the protection authorities against e-commerce platforms for selling household pressure cookers in breach of the platforms’ mandatory criteria.
Major e-commerce sites like Amazon, Flipkart, Paytm Mall, Shopclues, and Snapdeal have received notifications from the Authority.
Additionally, the vendors registered on these platforms received the notices.
CCPA said “Violation of standards mandated by the QCOs not only endangers public safety but can make consumers vulnerable to severe injuries including loss of life. This is a critical cause for concern, especially in the case of domestic pressure cookers, which are household goods, present in most homes near family members.”
In accordance with Section 18(2)(j) of the Act, the authority has also issued “Safety Notices” to inform and warn customers away from purchasing goods that lack legitimate ISI marks and contravene mandatory BIS standards.
Helmets, pressure cookers, and cooking gas cylinders were the subject of the first safety notice, while electric immersion water heaters, sewing machines, microwave ovens, and residential gas stoves with LPG were the subject of the second.