'Fake sports footwear, food items and more'; BIS raids in Kochi reveal underbelly of e-commerce fraud

KOCHI: Products, including food items, sold through e-commerce platforms always find a place in people's cart lists. However, the reality of these sales was brought to light on Saturday following a raid conducted by the Bureau of Indian Standards (BIS) on e-commerce establishments, including those in Kochi.

Fraud takes many forms, including hundreds of substandard food products, fake ISI marks, and products without the manufacturer's name or date. BIS is intensifying raids and legal action nationwide in the wake of violations discovered over the past two months.

The central government has tightened the quality certification for 769 types of products in the country. It has banned the manufacturing, importing, selling, and leasing of products without the ISI seal and a compliance certificate issued by BIS. Violators will face fines and imprisonment.

• Those items arriving through Kochi airport and those stored in e-commerce godowns do not have quality certificates or ISI seal.

• Over 3,500 products were seized from an Amazon godown in Delhi's Mohan Cooperative Industrial Area.

• 590 pairs of sports footwear without ISI seals and with fake seals were seized from Instacart Services in Trinagar, Delhi

• Fake products were also seized in places like Gurgaon, Faridabad, and Sriperumbudur.