Consumer Affairs Ministry plans to protect online shoppers

Rising number of complaints from people buying products online has led

the Consumer Affairs Ministry to frame guidelines for protection of consumers' involved in online shopping. The Department of Consumer Affairs has been receiving a large number of complaints from consumers making online purchases, Commerce and Industry Minister Nirmala Sitharaman said in a written reply to the Lok Sabha.

She said that a large variety of complaints such as non-delivery, delayed delivery, defective products, fake products, violation of warranty or guarantee are received in the department regularly. “The Ministry of Consumer Affairs is proposing to frame guidelines for protection of consumers' interest in online shopping,” she said.

Estimated at 2.3 billion dollars (about Rs 14,000 crores) at present, online retail accounts for 0.4 percent of the overall retail market in India, according to retail advisory firm Technopak. By 2019, the e-tail market is expected to reach between 19 billion dollars (over Rs 1.14 lakh crore) to 38 billion dollars (Rs 2.28 lakh crore), accounting for 2 percent to 4 percent of the overall retail industry.