Key Details
The Consumer Protection (E-Commerce) (Amendment) Rules, 2026 revise the Consumer Protection (E-Commerce) Rules, 2020 and take effect on 1 January 2027.
Area | New requirement |
|---|---|
Discounts | Display the reduced price and the lowest price offered during the preceding 30 days |
Search results | Do not manipulate results in ways that mislead users or reduce their relevance to the query |
Sponsored listings | Identify advertisements through clear and prominent disclosures |
Dark patterns | Conduct an annual self-audit and display a certificate of compliance |
Complaints | Give consumers a copy of the complaint recorded by the grievance officer |
National Consumer Helpline | Every e-commerce entity must join the NCH convergence process |
Seller information | Display return, refund, warranty, delivery, payment and use-by or best-before information |
Consumer data | Obtain express and affirmative consent for specified uses |
Additional charges | Do not collect bundled fees for unrelated services, subject to an exception for loyalty or membership programmes |
Imported goods | Display the importer and country of origin |
Discount Claims Will Require a 30-Day Reference Price
Platforms announcing a price reduction must display both the reduced price and the “prior price”—defined as the lowest price at which the product or service was offered during the preceding 30 days.
This is intended to make discount claims easier to verify. A seller cannot establish an artificially high reference price immediately before a sale and use it to present the prevailing price as a large reduction without the earlier 30-day price becoming visible.
The rule addresses how discounts are displayed; it does not regulate the amount a seller may charge.
Search Rankings and Sponsored Results Face Clearer Disclosure Rules
E-commerce entities cannot manipulate search results in a manner that misleads users or adversely affects their relevance to the search query. Sponsored listings must also be clearly and prominently identified.
These provisions recognise that product visibility influences consumer choice. A paid placement may be legitimate, but consumers should be able to distinguish it from a result ranked principally for relevance.
The practical reach of the search provision will depend on how misleading manipulation and relevance are assessed, particularly where rankings combine sponsorship, popularity, price, availability and personalised recommendations.
Dark-Pattern Compliance Moves into the E-Commerce Rules
Platforms must comply with the Guidelines for Prevention and Regulation of Dark Patterns, 2023, conduct a yearly self-audit and prominently display a compliance certificate.
Dark patterns are interface designs that steer, pressure or deceive users into decisions they may not otherwise make. Examples can include hidden charges, false urgency, obstructed cancellation or preselected additions to a purchase.
Placing an annual audit obligation within the amended Rules creates a recurring compliance requirement. Its effectiveness will depend on the quality of audits, the accuracy of certificates and scrutiny beyond platforms’ own assessments.
The amendments also prohibit marketplace entities from using consumer information for specified purposes without express and affirmative consent.
Complaints Will Connect More Directly with the National Helpline
Every e-commerce entity must become a partner in the convergence process of the National Consumer Helpline (NCH). Platforms must also provide complainants with a copy of the complaint as recorded by their grievance officers.
The NCH received 17,71,622 grievances in 2025, of which 5,11,196 — about 29% — concerned e-commerce. The volume indicates why integration with platform-level grievance systems has become a regulatory priority.
A recorded copy can help consumers verify the issue submitted, preserve a reference for escalation and identify whether important details were omitted or altered.
Product, Seller and Fee Disclosures Will Expand
Marketplace platforms must make key transactional information available, including:
best-before or use-before dates;
return and refund conditions;
warranties;
delivery and payment details;
importer information; and
country of origin for imported goods.
They are also barred from collecting bundled fees for services unrelated to the platform, except as permitted for loyalty or membership programmes.
Together, these provisions target costs or conditions that may become visible only late in the purchase process. Their value will depend on whether information is displayed when consumers make decisions rather than placed in lengthy terms or less visible parts of the interface.
What Are Dark Patterns?
Dark patterns are design practices that manipulate users into choices they did not freely or knowingly intend to make. They can make one option prominent while concealing another, create artificial urgency, add items or charges without clear consent, or make subscriptions substantially easier to start than cancel.
The regulatory concern is not persuasive design itself, but interfaces that impair informed consumer choice through deception, concealment or coercive pressure.
Policy Relevance
The amendments extend consumer protection into the design of online marketplaces, not only the products sold through them.
Improve price comparability: The 30-day reference price can make advertised discounts more credible if platforms preserve accurate price histories.
Make rankings accountable: Clear sponsored labels help consumers distinguish paid visibility from relevance-based results.
Test self-audit credibility: Annual dark-pattern certificates need consistent standards and regulatory scrutiny to provide more than formal compliance.
Strengthen redress: NCH integration should be assessed through response times, resolution rates and repeat complaints—not platform enrolment alone.
Relevant Question for Policy Stakeholders: How will the Department of Consumer Affairs verify compliance involving search algorithms, discount histories and dark-pattern audits, and what evidence will platforms have to retain when consumers or regulators challenge their practices?
Follow the Full Update Here: Consumer Protection (E-Commerce) (Amendment) Rules, 2026