Amazon, Flipkart vows to stop sale of fake cosmetics

By

Maverick Martins

Published
Nov 13, 2018

Online retailers Amazon and Flipkart have vowed to look into the sale of fake cosmetics on its platform and reprimand sellers involved in the malpractices.
 

Last month, the country’s top drug regulator Drugs Controller General of India (DCGI) issued notices to e-commerce companies like Amazon and Flipkart for selling imported cosmetic products which were imported without registration or manufactured in the country without a valid licence.
 
The drug regulator had told senior executives from Amazon and Flipkart to stop such sales or face stringent action, including a formal police complaint.

The company representatives in a meeting with the officials of DCGI have agreed to look into the matter and curb sales of fake cosmetics
 
The e-commerce retailers selling cosmetics will now have to display the license number of the cosmetics seller, name of the importer and validity of their license on their websites.
 
“They have been told to start correcting their system. They are going to delete all such products from their sites and are also going to have different agreements with sellers to prevent the sale of fake cosmetics,” DCGI's S. Eswara Reddy told the Mint.
 
“It is the responsibility of an online retailer to check that whatever cosmetics they are selling are genuine and the manufacturer or the importer should hold a valid licence. If they fail to do so, stringent action will be taken against them,” added Reddy.
 
Commenting on the controversy, Amazon India spokesperson said, Amazon is a third-party marketplace, which enables sellers to list their products for sale to Indian customers. Sellers on Amazon.in own their respective products and are responsible for product compliances. Amazon.in does take reactive action against sellers who are selling illegal or fake products, as the case may be.”