Centre releases guidelines to prevent illegal sales of walkie-talkies on e-commerce platforms
NEW DELHI: The
Central Consumer Protection Authority
(CCPA) on Friday notified the guidelines to prevent the illegal listing and sale of radio equipment, including walkie-talkies, in India via e-commerce platforms.
The 'Prevention and Regulation of Illegal Listing and Sale of Radio Equipment including Walkie Talkies on E-Commerce Platforms, 2025' guidelines have been framed after interministerial consultations between the Department of Consumer Affairs (DoCA), the
Ministry of Home Affairs
(MHA), and the
Department of Telecommunications
(DoT).
'These guidelines aim to prevent unauthorized sale, distribution, and use of wireless telegraphy apparatuses including walkie-talkies on e-commerce platforms, ensuring compliance with national telecommunications and security regulations,' the CCPA said.
The stoppage of illegal sales of such equipment has been a long-standing demand of the telecom carriers and the broader industry.
With the guidelines in place, the DoCA said it aims to enforce penalties and platform liability in case of non-compliance, mandate verification of seller credentials and certification, introduce automated monitoring and takedown mechanisms for unauthorised listing, and drive consumer awareness through disclosures.
This comes following the sale of walkie-talkies on e-commerce platforms without mandatory and clear disclosures, including whether a wireless operating license is needed. The omission of details such as frequency range, licensing obligations under the
Indian Telegraph Act
, 1885, or the Wireless Telegraphy Act, 1933, and the Use of Low Power, Very Low Power Short Range Radio Frequency Devices (Exemption from Licensing Requirement) Rules, 2018 and the potential legal consequences of unauthorised use, misleads consumers into believing that the devices are freely operable.
However, the guidelines stipulate that only authorised and compliant walkie-talkie devices operating on permitted frequencies are listed for sale on online platforms, and the product listing will have to specify frequency ranges and other technical parameters and include proof of regulatory approval (equipment type approval).
'Sellers should ensure that equipment listed for sale does not operate on frequencies which are not exempted from requirement of frequency assignment and authorization by DoT and ensure that the frequency bands on product description are clearly labelled,' the CCPA said in its guidelines.
The authority, earlier in May, issued 13 notices against 16,970 product listings to leading digital marketplaces against the listing and sale of walkie-talkies on e-commerce platforms without proper frequency disclosure, licensing information, or Equipment Type Approval (ETA), which were in violation of the Consumer Protection Act, 2019.
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