Asked by a reader in Bengaluru

I ordered online and received a defective or completely different product. Who is liable?

Answered by Advocate Sharan Jain··Consumer Protection Law

Short answer

The seller is liable, and the platform has its own obligations under the Consumer Protection (E-Commerce) Rules, 2020. You can complain on the National Consumer Helpline and then file before the District Commission where you live, naming both the seller and the marketplace.

Online purchases are squarely within consumer law, and the 2019 Act was drafted with e-commerce in mind.

The framework

The Consumer Protection (E-Commerce) Rules, 2020 impose duties on both marketplace and inventory e-commerce entities:

  • Display the seller's legal name, address and contact details, country of origin, and total price with a breakdown
  • Publish a clear return, refund, exchange and warranty policy
  • Appoint a grievance officer and acknowledge complaints within 48 hours, with redressal within one month
  • Not manipulate prices unfairly, and not misrepresent goods

A marketplace claiming to be a mere intermediary is not automatically immune, particularly where it fails its own obligations, controls the fulfilment, or where the platform's conduct itself amounts to deficiency.

Where you can sue matters
Under the 2019 Act you may file where you ordinarily reside or work. This is a genuine change from the old law and it is the reason online-purchase cases have become practical. You do not have to litigate in the city where the seller sits.

The sequence that works

  1. Raise it on the platform within the return window, and screenshot everything: the listing as advertised, the order, the delivery, the product received, and every chat with support.
  2. Escalate to the grievance officer named on the site, in writing.
  3. Complain on the National Consumer Helpline (1915) or the INGRAM portal. A large proportion resolve here, and it costs nothing.
  4. If unresolved, file on e-Daakhil before the District Commission, naming the seller and the platform, and claim refund, compensation and costs.

Two things that decide these cases

Evidence of what was advertised, since listings are edited after complaints, so archive the page. And an unboxing video where the item is expensive, which is the single most effective answer to a claim that you damaged it or that the correct item was sent.

Dark patterns

Guidelines issued by the Central Consumer Protection Authority prohibit specified dark patterns, including false urgency, basket sneaking, forced action and subscription traps. If you were pushed into a purchase by one of these, say so specifically in the complaint.

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Go deeper on this

This answer is the short version. These guides cover the same ground in full, with the procedure, the timelines and the leading cases.

SJ

Answered by

Advocate Sharan Jain

Advocate based in Bangalore, practising before the Karnataka High Court and District, Sessions, Consumer and Family courts. Answers public legal questions to make Indian law more accessible.

This answer is general information on Indian law as at August 7, 2026, published for public education. It is not legal advice, it does not take account of your facts, and reading it does not create an advocate-client relationship. Law changes and every case turns on its own circumstances. Please consult a qualified advocate about your own matter.

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