NEW DELHI: The Central Consumer Protection Authority (CCPA) has initiated action against several e-commerce platforms for listing and selling unauthorised walkie-talkies.
The authority has issued final orders against eight entities and imposed penalties amounting to ₹44 lakh.
Notices were sent to 13 e-commerce platforms—Chimiya, JioMart, Talk Pro, Meesho, MaskMan Toys, TradeIndia, Antriksh Technologies, Vardaanmart, IndiaMart, Meta Platforms Inc. (Facebook Marketplace), Flipkart, Krishna Mart, and Amazon—after the CCPA found more than 16,970 non-compliant product listings across these platforms. The authority stated that such sales violate the Consumer Protection Act, 2019, as well as telecom regulations.
According to the CCPA, these platforms allowed the sale of Personal Mobile Radios (PMRs) operating outside the licence-exempt frequency band. Many devices lacked mandatory Equipment Type Approval (ETA) certification, and product listings failed to clearly disclose licensing requirements.
The authority imposed penalties of ₹10 lakh each on Meesho, Meta Platforms Inc. (Facebook Marketplace), Flipkart, and Amazon, and ₹1 lakh each on Chimiya, JioMart, Talk Pro, and MaskMan Toys for violating consumer rights, publishing misleading advertisements, and engaging in unfair trade practices, Consumer Affairs Secretary Nidhi Khare said.
She added that Meesho, Meta, Chimiya, JioMart, and Talk Pro have already paid their penalties, while payments from the remaining platforms are awaited.
Under existing rules, licence exemption applies only to PMRs operating strictly within the 446.0–446.2 MHz frequency band. Rule 5 of the Use of Low Power and Very Low Power Short Range Radio Frequency Devices Rules, 2018 mandates that manufacturers and sellers obtain ETA approval before importing, selling, or using such devices.
On Flipkart, 65,931 units were sold where frequency details were either missing or outside the permitted range, while another 42,275 units were sold with correct frequency information.
On Amazon, 2,602 units were sold between January 2023 and May 2025. Of these, 467 product listings did not clearly mention frequency details or certification.
In the case of Facebook Marketplace, the CCPA found that walkie-talkies were listed without disclosure of licensing requirements, frequency information, or ETA/WPC certification. Even after receiving notices, the platform allowed repeated listings of regulated devices without adequate preventive measures. Following CCPA intervention, 710 listings were removed.
Talk Pro (Iconet Services Pvt Ltd) was found selling devices operating in the UHF 400–1200 MHz range while falsely claiming they were “100% legal” and “licence-free.” The platform also made misleading claims regarding the operating range of the devices.
Chimiya was found selling walkie-talkies operating in the UHF 400–470 MHz band, which is not permitted. These products were imported from overseas without the mandatory approvals.
Several platforms argued that they were merely intermediaries and not responsible for third-party listings. The CCPA rejected this claim, stating that platforms involved in listing, hosting, promoting, and selling regulated products cannot evade responsibility by portraying themselves as passive intermediaries.