The short version
- Most of this list has been law since 23 July 2020. The notification of 9 September 2026 amends those Rules and reaches single-brand stores of any size.
- New on 1 January 2027: the prior price on announced cuts, a copy of every complaint, the helpline partnership, a yearly self-audit with a displayed certificate, best-before dates where they apply, full country names for imports, and three narrower rules on search boosts, paid placements and invoices.
- Start one thing by 1 December: a dated record of every product's price. For a cut announced on 1 January, the 30 days before run from 2 to 31 December. That is arithmetic.
- The MRP is not banned. Whether codes, combos and a standing strike-through count as announced cuts is unsettled.
- This week, at no cost: a returns page that never refuses faulty, wrong, fake or late goods, no pre-ticked paid boxes, and your legal name, address and grievance officer on the site. All 2020 law.
The truth in three sentences
Most of this list has been the law since 23 July 2020. A short list is new from 1 January 2027. One item needs a record you start in December.
The gazette notification of 9 September 2026 amends the 2020 Rules, which already cover "single brand retailers in single or multiple formats". No size exemption exists. This is not legal advice. It is a marketer's reading of the gazette, with each rule quoted so you can hand it to a lawyer.
Already law, or new on 1 January 2027?
The Consumer Protection (E-Commerce) Rules 2020 and the 2026 amendment, read side by side on 25 September 2026
Law since 23 July 2020 (overdue if missing)
- Your store is covered at any size. Rule 2(1)(c)
- Legal name, addresses, customer-care and grievance-officer contacts on the site. Rule 4(2)
- A named grievance officer, with designation. Rule 4(4)
- Acknowledge a complaint within 48 hours. Resolve within one month. Rule 4(5)
- A ticket number for every complaint. Rule 7(1)(f)
- No pre-ticked boxes on a purchase. Rule 4(9)
- No one-sided cancellation fee. Rule 4(8)
- Refunds as the RBI prescribes, in reasonable time. Rule 4(10)
- Importer named for imported goods. Rule 4(6)
- The returns list: return, refund, exchange, warranty, delivery, cost of return shipping, payment modes, complaint route. Rule 7(1)(a)
- Payment methods, their security, recurring payments, fees, chargebacks. Rule 7(1)(c)
- One total price with every charge broken out. Rule 7(1)(e)
- No posing as a customer in reviews. Rule 7(2)
- No refusing returns of faulty, short, fake, misdescribed or late goods. Rule 7(4)
- Marketplace sellers: your own grievance officer; origin, importer, returns with return-shipping cost, delivery and warranties given to the platform. Rules 6(4), 6(5)
New or changed on 1 January 2027
- Prior price shown with an announced price cut. New Rule 4(13)
- A copy of the complaint as recorded, sent to the complainant. Changed Rule 4(5)
- Helpline partnership: from "best effort" to "shall". Changed Rule 4(7)
- Yearly dark-pattern self-audit and a displayed certificate. New Rule 4(15)
- Best-before or use-before date added to the returns list. Changed Rule 7(1)(a)
- Full country-of-origin name for imported goods. New Rule 4(6)(b)
- No misleading search manipulation against the query. New Rule 4(11)(c)
- Sponsored listings labelled. New Rule 4(12)
- Seller's name on the invoice in the same font size as the store's. New Rule 4(14)
- Identity block "at an appropriate place"; fax dropped. Changed Rule 4(2)
- Marketplace sellers: best-before and payment modes named in the seller list. Changed A government ID number for display, such as GSTIN or MSME. New Rules 6(5)(d), 6(5)(j)
- Marketplaces only: sellers inside "ranking"; seller website and email; ranking parameters "in descending order"; buyer-data and bundled-fee bars. Rules 3(1)(j), 5(3), 5(6), 5(7)
On the E-Commerce Rules: 20 duties law since 23 July 2020; 9 new and 7 changed from 1 January 2027, of which 3 bind marketplaces only and 2 bind marketplace sellers only.
The checklist
Overdue 2020 items come first. Then the new items, in order of how long each takes to be ready. Each carries its year and where it lives in Shopify. Your ticks stay in your own browser.
The thirteen checks that matter most.
Same items and the same saved ticks as the 32-item list in the 15-minute version
N · Do first: overdue today (7)
J · New or changed on 1 January 2027, by lead time (6)
On Amazon or Flipkart, three things are new: the best-before date, named beside the expiry date you already give, the payment modes, and a government ID number for display, such as a GSTIN or MSME number. The rest has been seller law since 2020. The full 32-item list, the unsettled table and every source are in the 15-minute version.
Three dates
- 23 July 2020. The E-Commerce Rules came into force. Most of the checklist dates from here.
- 1 December 2026. Start the dated price record. Arithmetic, not a rule date.
- 1 January 2027. The amendment comes into force. The short list of new duties starts.
Start one thing in December
The new rule: announce a price cut and you must show the prior price next to it. The rule defines it as "the lowest price of a good or service thirty days prior to the announcement of price reduction". The government's press release reads that as the lowest price during the 30 days before.
Shopify keeps no usable price history: two price fields, and an activity log capped at 250 entries that cannot be exported. The store with no price memory.
The free route: Products > Export, one dated file a day from 1 December, kept for 30 days or more. The app route: price-history apps from $4.99 to $16.99 a month, and they log only from the day you install them.
What the risk really is
PhysicsWallah was directed to pay ₹5,00,000 on 1 June 2026 for three practices, one of them a pre-ticked ₹10 donation that broke a 2020 rule. No order against a Shopify-only brand showed up in the regulator's order list, read on 25 September 2026. Your real exposure is your own buyers: helpline complaints sent straight to you, and a consumer case filed where the buyer lives.
The takeaway: most of this list has been overdue since 2020, so fix it this week. The new list is short. Start the price record by 1 December.
If you want a second pair of eyes
Book a free 30-minute funnel review: we look at the numbers you have. I say where I would look first, and whether the Leak Map makes sense for you, or not yet. The 30-Day Leak Map goes deeper into where the money leaks. The 15-minute version has every rule, caveat and source.
Questions people ask
Do I need a grievance officer for my e-commerce website?
Yes, since 2020. Name the officer on the site with designation and contact details. Acknowledge every complaint within 48 hours with a ticket number, and resolve it within one month. From 1 January 2027, also send the complainant a copy of the complaint as recorded.
How do I become a National Consumer Helpline convergence partner?
A partner gets the helpline's complaints about it sent straight to it, and answers them on the helpline's portal. Fill one free online form at consumerhelpline.gov.in and upload two letters on your letterhead. Joining is required from 1 January 2027. Approval time is not published, so apply early.
Can I still charge a COD fee?
No rule bans a cash-on-delivery (COD) fee. The Minister called extra COD charges a dark pattern in October 2025, and no order on COD fees was found. Show the fee as its own line before the buyer picks COD, and name it in your terms. A fee that appears only at the last step is the risk.
Sources
- Gazette of India Extraordinary No. 721, G.S.R. 789(E), Consumer Protection (E-Commerce) (Amendment) Rules 2026, 9 Sep 2026
- G.S.R. 462(E), Consumer Protection (E-Commerce) Rules 2020, 23 Jul 2020
- PIB release 2308759 on the amendment, 10 Sep 2026
- Guidelines for Prevention and Regulation of Dark Patterns 2023, CCPA, 30 Nov 2023
- CCPA order, PhysicsWallah Limited, Case CCPA-2/94/2025-CCPA, 1 Jun 2026
- CCPA published orders list, pages 1 to 5, read 25 Sep 2026
- Lok Sabha Unstarred Question 4041, 12 Aug 2026
- National Consumer Helpline, Convergence Programme, read 25 Sep 2026
- National Consumer Helpline, convergence partner registration and company undertaking, read 25 Sep 2026
- Shopify Help Center, European Price Indication Directive, read 25 Sep 2026
- Shopify Help Center, activity logs, read 25 Sep 2026
- Shopify Help Center, using CSV files for products, read 25 Sep 2026
- Shopify App Store listings for price-history apps, read 25 Sep 2026
- The Tribune, "Govt launches probe into e-commerce platforms over extra charges", Oct 2025
- The 15-minute version with every source
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