Holding that describing itself as a marketplace intermediary does not release an e-commerce platform from its consumer protection duties, the Central Consumer Protection Authority has fined Flipkart Rs 10 lakh for listing and promoting a weed killer called ‘Cyclosinone Herbicide’ that was never registered under the Insecticides Act, 1968.
New Delhi: The Central Consumer Protection Authority (CCPA) has held Flipkart Internet Pvt. Ltd. liable for misleading advertisement and unfair trade practice over the listing, advertisement and sale of an unregistered agro-chemical product marketed as ‘Cyclosinone Herbicide’, imposing a penalty of Rs 10 lakh and directing the platform to carry out a self-audit of its listings [In Re: Flipkart Internet Pvt. Ltd.].
The order dated September 22, 2026 was passed by Chief Commissioner Nidhi Khare and Commissioner Anupam Mishra of the CCPA.
How the matter reached the regulator
The proceedings began with a letter dated February 18, 2026 from the Plant Protection Division of the Department of Agriculture and Farmers Welfare, Union Ministry of Agriculture and Farmers Welfare. The Department forwarded a complaint dated January 22, 2026 lodged by the Crop Care Federation of India (CCFI) about the sale and promotion of the herbicide through e-commerce and digital media platforms.
According to the Ministry, no chemical by the name ‘Cyclosinone’ appears in the Schedule to the Insecticides Act, 1968, which means the product had not passed through the registration process that checks pesticides for safety, bio-efficacy and quality before they can be sold. The product was also being marketed without naming its active ingredient or disclosing its composition.
On Flipkart, the product was promoted with claims such as “Farmer and Gardener Approved Weed Killer”, “Eco-Safe Weed Terminator Lawn”, “Long Lasting Protection” and “Safe Weed Control for Lawns”.
Flipkart’s defence
Appearing through its legal counsel, Flipkart argued that it functions only as an e-commerce marketplace intermediary and does not manufacture, stock or sell the product itself. Responsibility for the goods, it submitted, rested with the third-party seller, and the statutory requirements invoked by the CCPA did not apply to the platform. Flipkart also told the Authority that the offending listings had been taken down and that its keyword-based blocking filters had been tightened.
Intermediary tag does not dilute statutory duty
The CCPA was not persuaded. It found that by listing the product, advertising it and facilitating its sale, Flipkart had taken on due-diligence obligations under consumer protection and e-commerce law, and that calling itself an intermediary could not relieve it of those duties. The Authority further held that the marketplace model did not exempt the platform from its statutory responsibilities, and that the contractual arrangements Flipkart had with its sellers could not water them down.
On the advertising itself, the Authority held that the safety and efficacy claims attached to the product, taken together with the lack of substantiation and the silence on its composition and regulatory status, amounted to a misleading advertisement under the Consumer Protection Act, 2019. It concluded that the claims constituted both a misleading advertisement and an unfair trade practice.
The CCPA also made clear that its examination was confined to the conduct of the e-commerce entity on the questions of consumer rights violations, misleading advertisement and unfair trade practice, which fall within its mandate under the 2019 Act.
Directions issued
The Authority directed Flipkart to stop the false and misleading advertisement with immediate effect, to conduct a self-audit so that products prohibited or hazardous under the law are not listed on its platform, and to pay a penalty of Rs 10 lakh for the first contravention. A compliance report on these directions is to be filed within 15 days of the order.
The CCPA has also passed separate orders on the same product against other online marketplaces, imposing Rs 10 lakh on Amazon and Rs 5 lakh on JioMart.
Why the order matters
The order adds to a growing line of CCPA decisions that treat large marketplaces as accountable for what appears on their storefronts, not merely as neutral pipes between buyers and sellers. For regulated goods such as pesticides, whose sale depends on registration under a separate statute, the Authority’s reasoning places a verification burden on the platform before a listing goes live. It also signals that taking a product down after a complaint, or pointing to seller contracts, will not by itself answer a charge of misleading advertisement once the listing has reached consumers.
Case Title: In Re: Flipkart Internet Pvt. Ltd. (Misleading Advertisement and Unfair Trade Practice through Sale of Agro-Chemical Product, namely “Cyclosinone Herbicide”)
File No.: CCPA/2/36/2026-CCPA [E-39132]
Coram: Nidhi Khare, Chief Commissioner and Anupam Mishra, Commissioner, Central Consumer Protection Authority
Date of Order: September 22, 2026
Appearance: Dheeraj Nair and Sahir Seth, Legal Counsel for Flipkart Internet Pvt. Ltd.