Consumer Affairs Minister Ram Vilas Paswan on Thursday said state governments have been directed to strictly enforce the provision that requires companies and e-commerce players to display the ‘country of origin’ on all products.
The provision of declaration of ‘country of origin’ has been in place since January 2018 for all manufacturers, importers, packers and e-commerce players.
The commerce Ministry has now been asked to ensure that e-commerce players too comply with this rule strictly, he said.
“We have reiterated that we have such a provision in place. We have directed state governments to strictly enforce the provision and take action against violators,” Paswan told reporters. Whether a product is sold through offline or online platform, it is mandatory to display ‘country of origin’ besides other details like maximum retail price (MRP), day of expiry, net quantity and consumer care details, he said.
In January 2018, the Government amended the Legal Metrology (Packaged Commodities) Rules, 2011 to add a new provision mandating declaration of ‘country of origin’ for manufacturers, importers, packers and e-commerce entities.
Consumer Affairs Secretary Leena Nandan said most of the companies are complying with the provision on product labelling sold in offline markets. But, e-commerce platforms are not showing it prominently on their websites. If this provision is strictly complied with, consumers can make an informed decision.
