MRP display compliance on e-commerce platforms improves: Survey

Compliance of the regulations for display of maximum retail price (MRP) of products by e-commerce platforms has improved, according to a LocalCircles survey.

Around 65 per cent of the respondents, who shopped online in the last three months said that e-commerce platforms are now displaying MRP, while the rest 35 per cent said that they could not find the MRP details.

"The comparison shows that the MRP display compliance has increased on e-commerce platforms in the last few months. In the survey conducted last year, 44 per cent consumers had said that ecommerce sites were not complying with the MRP display rule on the platforms.

"This number has reduced to 35 per cent in this year's survey, showing some improvement," it said.

A LocalCircles statement said that sellers on most large ecommerce platforms are now compliant on the MRP display rule.

The Department of Consumer Affairs implemented the Packaged Commodity Rules 2017 on January 1, 2018 and mandated the display of MRP of every product on all ecommerce sites operating in India.

It also mandated the display of the 'best before date' on all human consumption items being sold across ecommerce sites to help consumers make informed decisions.

Around 69 per cent consumers could not find the best before date information on human consumption products on e-commerce sites. Only 31 per cent said they were easily able to find it, said the statement.

The Ecommerce Rules 2020 also clearly state that the sellers on ecommerce platforms are mandated to state the expiry date of the good being offered for sale, wherever applicable.

The comparison shows that the situation, when it comes to finding expiry date of products on ecommerce platforms, has declined.

The percentage of consumers who were not able to find this information in last year's survey stood at 54 per cent while it has increased to 69 per cent this year.

The survey found that many small and mid-sized sellers on even the large platforms are yet to comply with this norm.

"For many packaged products for human consumption, consumers reported that they could not find the best before or expiry date displayed on ecommerce platforms," it said.