CONSUMER RIGHTS IN E-COMMERCE

With the advent of E-commerce revolution, the shopping habits of Indian consumers have changed for the better, becoming easier, simpler and faster. At the same time, it has also created new risks like false advertising, bogus products, delayed deliveries, hidden costs, and complex refund procedures. For this reason, the legal system related to consumer rights in electronic commerce is of fundamental importance to ensure that consumer protection is not sacrificed in order to enable consumers to enjoy the convenience of e-commerce. Consumer law is founded on the notion that the consumer should not be subjected to unfair practices or services in the marketplace which are less than what the consumer reasonably expects. This is a method that has been specifically adopted for online transactions in India in accordance with Consumer Protection Act, 2019 and Consumer Protection (E-Commerce) Rules, 2020. The provisions acknowledge that when a consumer buys something online, he or she has the same and sometimes even more rights to protection as a consumer shopping offline, in part because there is more information asymmetry in the digital marketplace.