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CCPA delists 3,940 sellers of explosives from IndiaMART, Justdial and five other platforms

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The Central Consumer Protection Authority (CCPA) has acted against seven online platforms, including IndiaMART and Justdial, for listing and facilitating the sale of explosive substances such as ammonium nitrate, gunpowder, picric acid, and pentaerythritol tetranitrate (PETN), the Ministry of Consumer Affairs said on October 19.

The CCPA expects platforms to ensure that sellers disclose valid licences from the Petroleum and Explosives Safety Organisation (PESO) and to verify buyers’ identities and licences before a purchase.

IndiaMART, which accounted for 3,092 of the 3,940 sellers and listing entries that the platforms delisted, has challenged the CCPA’s show-cause notices in the Delhi High Court. It joins Flipkart and Meta, which are challenging CCPA penalties after the regulator rejected their claims to safe harbour under Section 79 of the Information Technology (IT) Act. The CCPA has fined Dial4Trade and ExportersIndia Rs 30 lakh in total in the explosives cases.

The CCPA acted under the Consumer Protection Act, 2019, and the Consumer Protection (E-Commerce) Rules, 2020, read with the Explosives Act, 1884, and the Ammonium Nitrate Rules, 2012, the ministry said. The Explosives Act requires a licence to sell or buy these substances.

How has the CCPA treated platforms’ defences?

The CCPA treats platforms’ duties under the E-Commerce Rules as separate from their safe harbour under the IT Act. In an August order against Amazon over sweets listed as “Shri Ram Mandir Ayodhya Prasad,” it said:

“Obligations under Rule 4(3) and Rule 5(3)(a) are platform-level consumer protection duties owed directly to consumers. They are not contingent upon, nor dischargeable by, the intermediary safe harbour under Section 79 of the IT Act.”

In its September order against Dial4Trade, the CCPA rejected the platform’s safe harbour claim, finding that it had not demonstrated mechanisms to check regulated products, sellers’ licences, and buyers’ eligibility before making the listings available. It also rejected Dial4Trade’s argument that its business-to-business model limited its responsibility, holding that “any individual member of the general public” could access the platform.

The CCPA has held platforms responsible for regulated products in other cases:

Walkie-talkies: In January, the CCPA fined Flipkart and Amazon Rs 10 lakh each for listing walkie-talkies without mandatory licensing disclosures, rejecting their claims that they were only intermediaries. It had fined Meesho Rs 10 lakh in December 2025 over similar listings.
Toys: In August, the CCPA fined Flipkart Rs 5 lakh for selling toys that did not meet Bureau of Indian Standards (BIS) requirements, rejecting its safe harbour defence.
Drone jammers: In September, the CCPA fined e-commerce platform Xboom Rs 10 lakh for listing drone and GPS jammers without regulatory disclosures, rejecting its argument that the listings were only for enquiries.
Herbicide: This month, the CCPA fined Meesho Rs 10 lakh for allowing the sale of an unregistered herbicide, finding that it had failed to verify sellers’ licences. The CCPA also rejected Meesho’s intermediary defence.

Where do the challenges stand?

The National Consumer Disputes Redressal Commission (NCDRC) dismissed Dial4Trade’s appeal on October 9, holding that the ammonium nitrate listings constituted misleading advertisements and unfair trade practices under the Consumer Protection Act. Challenges by other platforms are pending:

IndiaMART: Its petition in the Delhi High Court challenging the explosives-related notices is pending. The CCPA had earlier sent IndiaMART notices over walkie-talkie listings in May 2025 and over drone and GPS jammers in February 2026.
Flipkart: It has told the Karnataka High Court that the CCPA had no jurisdiction to fine it over non-BIS-compliant toys.
Meta: It has argued that the CCPA has no jurisdiction over Facebook Marketplace. The Delhi High Court has allowed it to take its challenge to the NCDRC.

The Delhi High Court’s Division Bench held in Amazon Seller Services v. Amway that Section 79 does not create an “active versus passive intermediary” test and that providing value-added services does not, by itself, take away a platform’s safe harbour, as we reported.

How many sellers did each platform delist?

IndiaMART: 3,092 sellers, including 2,700 selling ammonium nitrate, 370 selling picric acid, and 22 selling gunpowder or PETN.
ExportersIndia: 421 sellers, including 386 selling ammonium nitrate.
Justdial: 206 sellers of ammonium nitrate.
TradeIndia: 166 sellers of picric acid and PETN, with 210 listing entries.
Dial4Trade: 11 sellers of ammonium nitrate.

Sigma-Aldrich India, a Merck company, and Ibuychemikals told the CCPA that they sell their own products and do not host third-party sellers.

Where do the other explosives cases stand?

ExportersIndia: The CCPA fined the company Rs 10 lakh in each of two cases: one involving ammonium nitrate and PETN, and the other involving picric acid. It has appealed both orders before the NCDRC.
Justdial: The company has replied to the CCPA’s investigation report but has sought adjournments at all four hearings, the ministry said. The CCPA has scheduled the final hearing for October 23.
TradeIndia, Sigma-Aldrich, and Ibuychemikals: The CCPA’s Director General of Investigation is still investigating these cases.

The government amended the E-Commerce Rules on September 9, with the amendments set to take effect on January 1, 2027. The key changes cover search results, sponsored listings, pricing, dark patterns, and seller information, but do not specifically address regulated products.

The ministry asked consumers to report listings of explosives on online platforms to the National Consumer Helpline at 1915.