CCPA imposes Rs 10 lakh penalty for online sale of explosives

The Central Consumer Protection Authority (CCPA) has imposed a substantial penalty of Rs 10 lakh on Dial4Trade Technologies Private Limited for enabling the online sale of hazardous ammonium nitrate without necessary regulatory measures. This penalty came under the Consumer Protection Act, 2019, under Sections 10, 20, and 21, with CCPA Chief Commissioner Nidhi Khare leading the action.

Dial4Trade has been instructed to halt the listing, hosting, advertising, or facilitating the sale of ammonium nitrate and any other explosive substances on its platform immediately.

During the investigation, the CCPA discovered that the platform had listed ammonium nitrate for sale without proper safety safeguards, such as disclosure of the seller's Petroleum and Explosives Safety Organisation (PESO) license, buyer identity and licensed status verification, transaction traceability mechanisms, and warnings about the legal restrictions and consequences of unauthorized possession.

Additionally, the platform featured images of explosions, which likely drew attention to the product rather than its hazardous nature.

The CCPA's action against Dial4Trade is part of their ongoing examination of several e-commerce platforms for unauthorized online sales of hazardous chemicals, explosive substances, and related precursors, including ammonium nitrate, gun powder, picric acid, and pentaerythritol tetranitrate (PETN). The authority is also monitoring IndiaMART and Justdial.

The CCPA highlighted that ammonium nitrate is a regulated substance, and its unauthorised sale or possession without safeguards can endanger public safety. The Authority emphasized that consumers depend on product listings and descriptions while making online purchases, and e-commerce platforms must conduct proper due diligence when dealing with regulated products.