CCPA Fines Amazon Over Fake ‘Shree Ram Mandir Ayodhya Prasad’ Listing

The Central Consumer Protection Authority (CCPA) has imposed a ₹1 Lakh penalty on Amazon for selling sweets on its marketplace with misleading labels claiming they were "Shri Ram Mandir Ayodhya Prasad". The regulator found that the commercial use of this phrase without authorization from the Shri Ram Janmabhoomi Teerth Kshetra Trust constituted a misleading trade practice and an affront to religious sentiments.

The complaint was filed by the Confederation of All India Traders (CAIT) alleging that four products, including ghee ladoos and pedas, were being falsely marketed as sacred offerings from the Ayodhya temple. Amazon removed the listings after receiving a show cause notice and cited its safe harbour status under the IT Act. However, the CCPA rejected this defense, stating that Amazon still had to comply with its consumer protection duties under the E-Commerce Rules, 2020.

The regulator also noted that despite Amazon having the seller's contact details internally, these were not prominently displayed on the platform, and the Buyer-Seller Messaging Service did not adequately provide accessible grievance officer details.

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