E-Commerce Rules Under the Consumer Protection Act (2026)

How-to · Consumer Law · E-Commerce

Updated for 2026 · Claw Editorial

Shopping online is covered by its own set of consumer rules. The Consumer Protection (E-Commerce) Rules, 2020 put clear duties on marketplaces like the big platforms, and on sellers that list on them, so a buyer is not left chasing an anonymous website. This guide explains what those duties are and what you can do when an online order goes wrong. Last verified October 2026.

01What the Rules cover

The Consumer Protection (E-Commerce) Rules, 2020 were made under Section 101 of the Consumer Protection Act, 2019. They apply to all e-commerce in goods and services in India, including entities based outside India that systematically offer to Indian consumers.

The Rules split e-commerce entities into two models. A marketplace entity provides a platform for independent sellers. An inventory entity owns the goods or services and sells them directly. The duties differ, which matters when you decide who to hold responsible.

02Grievance officer and nodal person

Every e-commerce entity must set up a grievance redressal system and appoint a grievance officer, and display that officer's name, contact details and designation on its website.

Timelines apply. The grievance officer must acknowledge a complaint within 48 hours and resolve it within one month of receipt. The entity must also appoint a nodal person of contact, who is an Indian resident, to ensure compliance with the Act and these Rules.

03Duties of every e-commerce entity

Common duties apply to all e-commerce entities:

• display the legal name, address, and customer care contact of the entity;
• not adopt any unfair trade practice, whether on the platform or otherwise;
• not manipulate the price of goods or services to make an unreasonable gain;
• not discriminate between consumers of the same class or arbitrarily classify them; and
• give clear information on returns, refunds, exchange, warranty, delivery, modes of payment, and grievance redressal, so a buyer can make an informed choice.

A platform cannot cancel a confirmed order and charge a cancellation fee if it cancels on its own, which protects buyers from one-sided cancellations.

04Marketplace model

A marketplace entity has extra disclosure duties because the actual seller is a third party. It must obtain and display details about each seller, including the business name, the geographic address, and the customer care number, so a buyer knows who they are dealing with.

It must give a ticket number for each complaint so the buyer can track its status, and disclose in its terms any different treatment it gives to goods, services, or sellers of the same category. Sellers on the platform are barred from posting fake reviews or misrepresenting the quality of goods.

05Inventory model

An inventory e-commerce entity owns the goods or services it sells, so it carries duties close to those of a seller. It must not falsely represent itself as a consumer and post reviews, and it must not misrepresent the quality or features of any goods or services.

Crucially, where an inventory entity vouches for or guarantees the authenticity of the goods or services it sells, it bears the liability for any claim about that authenticity. So on an inventory sale, the entity is the party to hold responsible.

06What a buyer can do

If an online order goes wrong, follow this order:

1. Raise a grievance with the platform's grievance officer and keep the ticket number.
2. Escalate through the National Consumer Helpline if the platform does not resolve it within the timeline.
3. File a consumer complaint before the District, State or National Commission, chosen by value, for a refund, replacement, or compensation. This is the same route as any consumer complaint, and a platform's conduct can also be an unfair trade practice.

The two-year limitation under Section 69 applies to a commission complaint.

07Where Claw fits

Claw is an all-in-one legaltech platform for Indian advocates, law firms, and corporate legal teams, combining AI-based case search, an AI legal assistant (Legal GPT), case management, and compliance automation across all Indian courts and tribunals.

An e-commerce dispute often turns on how the consumer commissions have treated platform liability and disclosure duties, and on keeping tabs on a matter against a large company. Claw works at that research and tracking layer. You can search more than 30 crore judgments to see how e-commerce and marketplace complaints were decided, with results in under five seconds, and follow a live matter across 9,102 courts, benches and forums, consumer commissions among them, by party or advocate name. The judgments span the Supreme Court since 1950 and the High Courts since 1990. Claw does not use your case documents to train its AI models.

Create a free Claw account to follow your consumer matter and study how similar platform disputes were decided. For wider research, see case search across Indian courts.

08Sources and further reading

• India Code (Consumer Protection Act, 2019 and the E-Commerce Rules, 2020): indiacode.nic.in
• Department of Consumer Affairs (E-Commerce Rules, National Consumer Helpline): consumeraffairs.nic.in
• e-Jagriti (national consumer case portal): e-jagriti.gov.in
• Claw: clawlaw.in

This guide is general information, not legal advice. The E-Commerce Rules have been amended and further changes have been proposed, so confirm the current text before you rely on it.

09Frequently asked questions