India has announced new regulations to enhance transparency on e-commerce platforms, targeting misleading discounts, search result manipulation, and dark pattern practices, set to come into effect in January 2027.
India has moved to curb misleading discounting and search manipulation on e-commerce platforms, amending its consumer rules to force greater transparency over prices, sponsored listings and interface design tricks that can steer shoppers towards choices they might not otherwise make.
The Department of Consumer Affairs said the Consumer Protection (E-Commerce) (Amendment) Rules, 2026, will take effect from January 1, 2027. According to the government’s announcement, platforms will have to show both the reduced price and the “prior price” whenever they advertise a discount. The prior price will be defined as the lowest price at which the item was sold in the 30 days before the offer began.
The new framework also targets search result manipulation. E-commerce companies will be barred from altering rankings in ways that mislead users or distort relevance, while sponsored listings will need clear and prominent labels. The rules also require compliance with the 2023 dark patterns guidelines, which were designed to tackle interface practices that can pressure consumers or obscure real costs.
Dark patterns have become a growing enforcement priority for India’s consumer watchdog. Business Standard reported that the Central Consumer Protection Authority has already fined several digital platforms, including IndiGo, Zepto, BookMyShow, Physics Wallah and SpiceJet, for deceptive online design practices. Government figures presented to parliament in August said the authority had imposed cumulative penalties of ₹20 lakh on companies for such violations.
The amendment also pulls e-commerce firms more directly into the National Consumer Helpline process. The Department of Consumer Affairs said the helpline received 17,71,622 complaints in 2025, of which 5,11,196, or about 29 per cent, related to e-commerce. Platforms will now have to share copies of complaints recorded by their grievance officers with complainants, as the government seeks to tighten redress and reduce friction for shoppers.
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