India Tightens E-Commerce Rules to Tackle Dark Patterns and Sponsored Listings

The government has tightened standards on price transparency, sponsored listings, search result manipulation, and dark patterns by amending the Consumer Protection (E-Commerce) Rules, 2020, as announced on 10 September by the Department of Consumer Affairs. An announcement was made stating that the Consumer Protection (E-Commerce) (Amendment) Rules, 2026 will be effective as of January 1, 2027.

According to a statement from the Ministry of Consumer Affairs, Food & Public Distribution, the updated regulations aim to tackle new consumer worries in the online sector. In addition, the necessity for Ease of Doing Business and a fair approach that safeguards consumer interests without overly burdening e-commerce businesses with regulations will be considered in these revisions.

New E-Commerece Rules for E-Comm Players

The new regulations state that if an online retailer announces a price drop, they must also reveal the "prior price" in addition to the discounted amount. In the 30 days preceding the announcement of the discount, the prior price was defined as the lowest price at which the product was available. The regulations forbid online retailers from deceiving customers or making search results less relevant to their queries. The statement stated that sponsored listings must be clearly identifiable with conspicuous disclaimers.

According to the department, online businesses must follow the Guidelines for Prevention and Regulation of Dark Patterns, 2023, conduct a self-assessment once a year, and show a compliance certificate. Dark patterns are shady internet techniques that purportedly tricked customers into subscribing and buying from certain companies. Some examples of deceptive practices in marketing include drip pricing, sneaky baskets, confirm shame, subscription traps, and misleading prompts. Users are encouraged to make decisions they might not have made otherwise through the employment of these strategies.

Govt Bringing Transparency in E-Comm Via Amendments

Online marketplaces were ordered by the Central Consumer Protection Authority to do internal audits in June 2025 in order to detect and eliminate any malicious trends from their digital offerings. According to the new regulations, all online businesses must join the National Consumer Helpline's (NCH) convergence effort. Approximately 29%, or 5,11,196 complaints out of 17,71,622 received by the NCH in 2025, were pertaining to the online retail industry, according to the department.

A copy of the complaint as recorded by the grievance officer must be made available to the complainant by every e-commerce business, according to the rules. Important facts on returns, refunds, warranties, shipping, and payment, as well as best before or use before dates, must be disclosed by marketplace e-commerce businesses. According to the regulations, all of this is necessary so that buyers can make educated choices.

The statement stated that information about the importer and the country of origin must be given for items that are imported. Additionally, the regulations forbid marketplace e-commerce businesses from collecting bundled fees for services unconnected to the e-commerce platform, with the exception of loyalty or membership programs. Further ecommrece firms cannot utilise customer information for specific purposes without explicit and affirmative authorisation.