Online shopping and returns

The Act includes online consumer transactions. The Consumer Protection (E-Commerce) Rules, 2020 add platform and seller duties: keep the product page, seller identity, return and refund terms, delivery promise, order record and grievance contact. Rule 4(5) requires the e-commerce grievance officer to acknowledge a consumer complaint within forty-eight hours and redress it within one month. These duties are not a guarantee that a Commission case finishes in that period, nor proof that every refund claim is legally valid.

Rules 6(3) and 7(4) address refusal to take back or refund in specified defective, deficient, spurious, misdescribed or late-delivery situations; the late-delivery provision has a force-majeure exception. Read the relevant seller or inventory-platform rule instead of assuming an unconditional change-of-mind return right. The September 2026 e-commerce amendment notification expressly starts on 1 January 2027. As of this source review, its new requirements are upcoming, not already effective. The government rules index provides the original rules, corrections and amendments.