Consumer Court slaps ₹30,000 penalty for sale of counterfeit protein powder via Flipkart

The West Bengal State Consumer Disputes Redressal Commission on Monday slapped a penalty of ₹30,000 on a retailer for selling counterfeit whey protein powder to a consumer via Flipkart [Jamal Haider v Flipkart Internet Private Limited and Ors.]. .The Commission also ordered the retailer to refund of ₹6,524 to the consumer.A Coram of Presiding Member Kundan Kumar Korai and member Swapan Kumar Das passed the order after noting that the retailer did not appear to contest the claim, and the documents as well as testimony by the complainant clearly established the sale of a counterfeit product. ."On the other hand, the OP no.2 had not appeared to contest the claim and the Annextures C 1,2&3 apart from the uncontroverted testimony of the Complainant clearly points to the fact that the OP no.2 had not only sold that product, but the same was also found to be a counterfeit one," the order stated..As per the complainant, after ordering the supplement purportedly manufactured by USA based Muscletech, he was unable to detect the 'scratch code', which led him to contact Flipkart's customer support. Flipkart support suggested verifying the genuineness of the product with Shri Balaji Overseas, an importer of Muscletech supplements. The importer confirmed that the product received was counterfeit.Accordingly, the complainant approached the retailer for a refund but did not get one. Aggrieved, he moved the Commission against Flipkart and the retailer. The importer was also arraigned as a respondent. .Flipkart contested the complaint on the ground that it was merely an intermediary which only facilitated the sale of the product. It also informed the Commission that it had blacklisted the seller. The retailer and the importer did not appear to contest the complaint and were, therefore, proceeded against ex-parte..The Commission noted that Flipkart could be held liable only for the liabilities under Rule 5 (Liabilities of marketplace e-commerce entities) of the Consumer Protection (E-commerce) Rules. Since there was nothing to demonstrate a violation, the Commission determined that claims against Flipkart did not stand proved.However, Flipkart should have taken a strict view of the sale of the counterfeit edible product which could have resulted in serious health complications, the Commission observed. It noted that there was no evidence to show that Flipkart was taking action against the seller. .Thereafter, the Commission noted that the documents as well as testimony by the complainant clearly established the sale of a counterfeit product.In view of the same, the seller was held liable to not only refund the price of the product but also to compensate the complainant for mental and physical agony, it observed.It also ruled that no case was made against the importer and hence dismissed the complaint against the importer..Accordingly, the Commission directed the seller to refund ₹6,524 to the complainant, along with compensating him with ₹20,000 for mental and physical agony and ₹10,000 for litigation costs..[Read Order]