Days after raising concerns over an advertisement by e-commerce major Flipkart featuring Bollywood actor Amitabh Bachchan, the Confederation of All India Traders (CAIT) has filed a complaint with Central Consumer Protection Authority (CCPA) of Ministry of Consumer Affairs (MCA).

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Last week, CAIT and offline smartphone retailers called out the advertisement where Bachchan was promoting Flipkart's upcoming Big Billion Day sale, telling consumers that deals on mobiles won't be available offline at retail stores.

The Big Billion Days sale is slated to take place from October 8-15.

CAIT, in a letter, called for the ad to be withdrawn, stating this unfairly impacts the livelihood of shopkeepers and misleads consumers on the other hand.

"If this concern is not addressed, we will be left with no choice but to seek intervention from the Ministry of Information," the letter dated September 29 stated.

On the other hand, the All India Mobile Retailers Association (AIMRA), which represents over 1.5 lakh mobile retailers, also wrote to most smartphone brands to take up the issue and publicly clarify that the claims made in Flipkart's ad are not true.

While the advertisement was made private post these concerns, CAIT has now officially filed a complaint with the CCPA demanding urgent action against Amitabh Bachchan and Flipkart.

"The CAIT demand has come under Section 2 (47) of the Consumer Protection Act which deals with unfair trade practices, misleading advertisements & false and misleading facts," CAIT's statement to the media said.

In the complaint, CAIT said that as per the definition under Section 2(47), Flipkart, acting through Amitabh Bachchan (endorser), has misled the public regarding the price at which mobile phones are being made available by sellers/suppliers in the smartphone market of India (relevant market).

This, they added, has the effect of disparaging the goods, services or trade of another person.

"Further, as per rule 4 of the Guidelines for Prevention of Misleading Advertisements and Endorsements for Misleading Advertisements, 2022, the advertisement by Flipkart is misleading because it doesn’t contain truthful and honest representation and is wholly incorrect, malicious, misleading and manipulative," the media statement added.

CAIT has urged the CCPA to direct Flipkart to suspend the advertisement to avoid further damage to offline retailers ahead of the festive season.

CAIT also demanded, in its complaint, that Flipkart be penalised (as per section 89 of the CPA), for false or misleading advertisement with imprisonment for a term of two years and a fine of Rs 10 Lakh and penalise Amitabh Bachchan with a fine of Rs 10 Lakh as per section 89 of the Act.

CNBC-TV18 has written to Flipkart for a statement. The copy will be updated after Flipkart's response.

Also Read:Flipkart launches paid subscription 'VIP' taking on Amazon ahead of festive sales

(Edited by : Sangam Singh)

First Published:Oct 3, 2023 2:40 PM IST