CCPA fines Amazon Rs 1 lakh over misleading 'Ayodhya Prasad' listings

The Central Consumer Protection Authority (CCPA) has imposed a Rs 1 lakh penalty on Amazon Seller Services for allowing ordinary sweets to be sold on its platform as “Shri Ram Mandir Ayodhya Prasad” without authorisation from the Ram Mandir Trust.According to media reports,in its August 4, 2026 order, the consumer regulator said the listings amounted to misleading advertisements and violated the Consumer Protection (E-Commerce) Rules, 2020.The CCPA said the phrase “Shri Ram Mandir Ayodhya Prasad” has a specific meaning for devotees, referring to sacred food offered to and blessed by the deity at the Ram Mandir in Ayodhya. It held that using the term for ordinary confectionery without authorisation from the Shri Ram Janmabhoomi Teerth Kshetra Trust was a misleading trade practice.
The action followed a complaint filed by the Confederation of All India Traders (CAIT) on January 19, 2024. The complaint alleged that four sweet products were listed on Amazon.in as “Sri Ram Mandir Ayodhya Prasad”, with prices ranging from Rs 299 to Rs 385.The CCPA issued a show-cause notice to Amazon the same day, shortly before the January 22, 2024 Pran Pratishtha ceremony at the Ram Mandir. Amazon subsequently removed the listings.
Amazon argued that it was an intermediary entitled to safe-harbour protection under Section 79 of the Information Technology Act. However, the CCPA rejected the defence, saying consumer protection obligations under the E-Commerce Rules are separate from intermediary protections under the IT Act.The regulator also found deficiencies in the display of seller information and Amazon’s grievance redressal mechanism, which required users to log in to access it.
According to the CCPA order, the four listings generated gross merchandise sales of Rs 25.26 lakh, while actual revenue from the products stood at Rs 39,802.29. Amazon earned Rs 15,165.90 as service fees.The CCPA further directed Amazon to ensure that products claiming to be “prasad”, “prasadam”, “mahaprasad”, “bhog” or similar religious offerings associated with specified religious institutions are not listed or advertised without verifiable documentary proof of authorisation.Amazon has submitted a framework covering 10 major religious institutions and shrines, including Ram Janmabhoomi Mandir, Tirumala Tirupati Devasthanam, Shri Mata Vaishno Devi Shrine, Shri Kashi Vishwanath Temple, Shri Jagannath Temple, Shri Kedarnath Temple, Shri Badrinath Temple, Shri Somnath Temple, Shri Dwarkadhish Temple and Shri Mahakaleshwar Temple.