HYDERABAD: E-commerce site Amazon India was held jointly responsible for deficiency of service along with two other parties by the Hyderabad Consumer Forum. It observed that the disclaimer given by Amazon left it in a dominant position and compelled the consumer to accept the same. The other two parties are IFB Industrial Limi-ted based in Kolkata, and Cloudtail Pvt Ltd of Har-yana. A major point of contention was the forum’s jurisdiction, as Amazon was a website.
The complainant, Ms Anusha Venigalla of San-athnagar, purchased an IFB convection micro-wave oven on January 15, 2016, for Rs 8,715 from Amazon. She alleged that no demo was given nor was the product installed.
An IFB engineer visited the complainant’s house only on August 4, after she complained repeatedly about the product. The engineer said the product could not be replaced as the warranty period of six months was over. Amazon India contended that its website is maintained by Amazon Seller Services Pvt Ltd, and that the forum does not have jurisdiction to entertain the complaint as it had no branch office in Hyderabad. Amazon said it was merely an online marketplace and manufacturers and sellers were responsible for their products. Cloudtail was the seller of the IFB microwave.
The forum observed that e-commerce websites are virtual in nature and cannot have a brick and mortar office and therefore since the complainant placed an order and received the product in Hyderabad, it can be construed that Amazon is carrying on business in Hyderabad. The forum stated that as the complainant, a resident of Hyderabad, carried out the transaction in the city, it cannot be said that the forum lacked jurisdiction. It stated that it was the duty of Amazon to ensure that authorised sellers were diligent and authentic.
IFB and Cloudtail were rapped for “shirking from the liabilities caused by the commission and omissions.” The forum ruled in favour of the complainant and ordered that a sum of Rs 15,000 be paid to her along with litigation costs of Rs 3,000.
