It is mandatory for e-commerce platforms such as Amazon, Flipkart, and Snapdeal to display the country of origin alongside imported products, the government told the Delhi High Court on Wednesday. This response came in a counter-affidavit filed by the centre, following a plea seeking e-commerce to display country of origin alongside product listings. The government also prayed that the Court issue an advisory or directive to e-commerce companies to provide an option to “refine” search results for “made in India” products. News agency PTI first reported this. The affidavit, which was filed through the central government standing counsel Ajay Digpaul, also revealed that the government had sent a direction to all e-commerce companies on July 3 asking them to display the country of origin as mandated in the legal metrology rules. The direction was sent by BN Dixit, director of legal metrology under the Department of Consumer Affairs. This perhaps explains why Amazon India sent an email to sellers on its platform last week, directing them to mandatorily display country of origin alongside product listings, starting from July 21. The government argued that it is mandatory for e-commerce companies to display the country of imported products under the legal metrology rules. “It is respectfully submitted that the provision for declarations of country of origin on e-commerce sites is already made under sub-rule l0 of rule 6 of the Legal Metrology (Packaged Commodities) Rules, 201 I and E-Commerce entities should ensure that the mandatory declarations (including the country of origin in…
