NEW DELHI: A district consumer commission in Punjab has held an online seller and Amazon liable for deficiency in service after a customer received an empty box instead of a graphics card worth Rs 22,440. The commission directed them to refund the amount, pay Rs 10,000 as compensation and Rs 5,000 towards litigation expenses.
Graphics card missing from parcel
According to the commission order, Lovish Chadha bought a Gigabyte GeForce RTX 3050 graphics card for Rs 22,440 through Amazon on April 27, 2025. He paid through an Amazon gift card, and the parcel was delivered on May 3.However, when he opened the package, he found that the graphics card was missing from the box. He contacted Amazon customer service on May 9 and lodged a complaint, but was later informed that neither a replacement nor a refund would be provided.Chadha approached the commission seeking a refund of Rs 22,440 and Rs 1 lakh as compensation for the harassment and inconvenience.The seller, The Shop Well, denied that the parcel was delivered empty, calling the complaint false and concocted. It claimed that the graphics card had been procured from a third-party wholesaler, inspected, packed and dispatched to the customer. It also relied on invoices to support its defence.Amazon said it merely operated an e-commerce marketplace and facilitated transactions between independent sellers and buyers. It argued that the seller alone was responsible for supplying and delivering the product. The company also relied on delivery records, package weight and the one-time password (OTP) mechanism to claim that the consignment had been duly delivered.
Commission’s finding
The bench comprising president Naveen Puri and members Prem Singh Salaria and Harvimal Dogra found that the graphics card was missing from the parcel delivered to Chadha.“Upon consideration of the material and the rival stands of the parties, we are of the considered view that the graphics card wasmissing from the parcel delivered to the complainant,” the commission said.It noted that the seller’s claim that the product had been procured, inspected and packed before dispatch did not satisfactorily answer the customer’s grievance. The commission held that failure to supply the purchased product amounted to deficiency in service under Section 2(11) of the Consumer Protection Act, 2019.“The mere fact that a parcel was delivered, or that an OTP-based delivery procedure was followed, does not by itself conclusively establish that the particular goods ordered by the complainant were contained therein,” the bench added.Rejecting Amazon’s plea that the seller alone was responsible, the commission said “an intermediary cannot automatically be held liable for every act of an independent seller, nor can it claim unconditional immunity merely by describing itself as a marketplace operator”.The bench held that Amazon could not claim complete exemption from liability for the transaction facilitated through its platform. It held both opposite parties jointly and severally liable.
Final order
The District Consumer Disputes Redressal Commission, Hoshiarpur partly allowed the complaint and directed the seller and Amazon, jointly and severally, to:
- Refund Rs 22,440 paid for the graphics card.
- Pay Rs 10,000 as compensation for harassment and inconvenience.
- Pay Rs 5,000 towards litigation expenses.
The order said the parties must comply within 45 days of receiving a certified copy. If they fail to do so, the awarded amounts will carry 9 percent annual interest from the expiry of the stipulated period until actual payment.
