Amazon has been given seven days to respond to the notice.
The Centre has issued a notice to Amazon, accusing the e-commerce giant of engaging in "deceptive trade practices" related to the sale of sweets under the name 'Shri Ram Mandir Ayodhya Prasad.' The action comes in response to a complaint lodged by the Confederation of All India Traders (CAIT), alleging that Amazon is misleading consumers by selling sweets under the guise of "prasad" from the yet-to-be-inaugurated Ram Temple in Ayodhya.
The Central Consumer Protection Authority (CCPA) said such practices mislead consumers about the true characteristics of the products, influencing their purchase decisions based on inaccurate representations.
"Enabling the sale of food products online that make false representations misleads consumers regarding the genuine characteristics of the product. Such practice falsely influences consumers to make purchase decisions they might not have otherwise taken, had the accurate attributes of the product been mentioned," the CCPA said in a statement.
The specific products in question listed on Amazon's platform include 'Sri Ram Mandir Ayodhya Prasad - Raghupati Ghee Ladoo, Ayodhya Ram Mandir Ayodhya Prasad, Khoya Khobi Ladoo, Ram Mandir Ayodhya Prasad - Desi Cow Milk Peda,' among others.
Amazon has been given seven days to respond to the notice issued by the CCPA, failing which necessary actions will be initiated against the company under the provisions of the Consumer Protection Act, 2019.