The government is increasing scrutiny of fake, smuggled and substandard goods sold through online marketplaces ahead of the festive shopping season. The Central Board of Indirect Taxes and Customs (CBIC) is working with major ecommerce platforms and other agencies to identify suspicious sellers, products and supply chains.
The focus includes imported goods offered at unusually low prices, products suspected to have entered India through smuggling channels and items being sold without mandatory certifications.
Officials said ecommerce platforms are approaching the government for help in identifying potentially fake or substandard products. Categories under scrutiny include electronic items, watches, perfumes and cosmetics, along with products that do not properly declare their country of origin. The monitoring is aimed at tracing products through the supply chain, from their entry into India to their eventual sale to consumers.
The increased monitoring comes ahead of the period when online purchases typically rise sharply. Authorities are also examining dark stores, which have expanded with the growth of quick-commerce and hyper-local delivery networks.
Their dispersed locations can make monitoring more difficult, while officials are also looking into cases involving alleged under-reporting of turnover and revenue.
India’s ecommerce sector is projected to grow from $125 billion in 2024 to around $345 billion by 2030, according to a report by research consultancy Infisum. The country’s dark-store network is also projected to increase from 2,525 stores in 2025 to about 7,500 by 2030, driven by demand for faster deliveries.
The expansion is increasing the number of locations and transactions that regulators and platforms need to monitor.
The scrutiny of online fake and smuggled goods is part of a broader concern around illicit trade in India. A Ficci-Cascade study estimated illicit trade across five key sectors, including textiles, apparel and FMCG, at Rs 7.97 lakh crore annually.
The government had also carried out a wider monitoring exercise around the rollout of GST 2.0, involving ecommerce companies and other stakeholders to track consumer complaints, pricing concerns and potentially non-compliant transactions.
This time, the monitoring is focused more directly on physical products moving through the ecommerce ecosystem. Authorities are examining the movement of goods from their point of entry into the country through the supply chain and finally to consumers, with ecommerce platforms involved in identifying potentially non-compliant products and sellers.
FAQs
- Why is the government checking online sellers?
The government is increasing checks to identify fake, smuggled and substandard products being sold online.
- Which products are being monitored?
Electronic items, watches, perfumes, cosmetics and products without proper country-of-origin declarations are among those being scrutinised.
- Why has the scrutiny increased now?
The checks have been stepped up ahead of the festive season, when online shopping generally sees higher demand.
- What are dark stores?
Dark stores are small warehouses or fulfilment centres used by ecommerce and quick-commerce companies to store products and enable faster deliveries.
