The National Consumer Disputes Redressal Commission (NCDRC) on Wednesday dismissed an appeal by Cloudtail India, challenging the Central Consumer Protection Authority (CCPA) order against selling domestic pressure cookers in violation of mandatory BIS standards.
In its order, CCPA had directed Cloudtail India to recall 1,033 units of domestic pressure cookers and reimburse the amount to consumers and submit a compliance report within 45 days.
The company was also directed to pay a penalty of Rs 1 lakh for sale of pressure cookers in violation to Quality Control Orders (QCO) and violating the rights of consumers, according to an official statement.
The order passed by CCPA was challenged by Cloudtail in its appeal before the NCDRC. On Wednesday, NCDRC dismissed an appeal.
Cloudtail India is the seller of pressure cookers namely "Amazon Basics Stainless Steel Outer Lid Pressure Cooker, 4 L (does not give pressure alert by whistle)".
The pressure cooker was being offered for sale to consumers on the Amazon e-commerce platform.
As per the QCO, which came into force on February 1, 2021, domestic pressure cookers are mandated to conform to Indian Standard (IS) 2347: 2017 and bear the standard mark under a license from the Bureau of Indian Standards (BIS) as per Scheme-I of Schedule II of Bureau of Indian Standard (Conformity Assessment) Regulations, 2018.
Domestic pressure cookers are among the most commonly used everyday items in households, and are present in the immediate vicinity of family members, therefore, a domestic pressure cooker, which violates the mandatory requirements of the QCO can prove to be extremely fatal and dangerous for the life and safety of consumers and public at large, the statement by Consumer Affairs, Food and Public Distribution ministry added.
In the present case, Cloudtail was observed to be selling domestic pressure cookers to consumers without conforming to the prescribed mandatory standards and without the standard (ISI) mark under the license from the BIS.
The non-certified pressure cookers were being sold by Cloudtail to consumers in India even after the QCO came into force, the statement said.
Cloudtail had submitted in its reply to CCPA that after the QCO came into force, it had suspended the import of the pressure cookers.
However, it was observed by CCPA that though import was suspended, the company had not stopped the sale of such pressure cookers to consumers.
In fact, this submission evidently indicated that despite being aware of the QCO, the company was still selling such pressure cookers to consumers at large.
