E-Commerce & Retail

E-commerce companies in India operate under a regulatory framework that is still evolving — FDI restrictions on inventory-model e-commerce, consumer protection obligations under the Consumer Protection (E-Commerce) Rules 2020, and competition law scrutiny of dominant platforms create a complex compliance environment. The DPIIT's FDI policy distinguishes between marketplace and inventory models in ways that significantly affect business architecture — a structuring question with major legal implications that requires careful ongoing monitoring.

Consumer protection has emerged as a major legal front for e-commerce companies. The Consumer Protection Act 2019 and E-Commerce Rules impose disclosure requirements, grievance redressal obligations, and product liability exposure that did not exist under the previous framework. Class action consumer complaints — permitted under the Act — represent a systemic risk for companies with recurring product or service quality issues. Corpus Juris Legal advises e-commerce companies on proactive consumer compliance and represents them in District Consumer Forum, NCDRC, and High Court proceedings.

Data privacy is increasingly central to e-commerce legal strategy. E-commerce companies collect and process vast volumes of customer personal data — browsing behaviour, transaction history, payment information, and delivery addresses. The DPDP Act 2023 imposes consent requirements, data minimisation obligations, and grievance mechanisms that require end-to-end privacy architecture review. Corpus Juris Legal's technology and data privacy practice works with e-commerce companies to build DPDP compliance into their data engineering and product development processes.