---
title: "India E-Commerce Rules 2027 Check for Online Stores: 30-Day Price, Dark Patterns"
description: "Free check for Indian online stores before the Consumer Protection (E-Commerce) Amendment Rules, 2026 apply on 1 January 2027: seller details, grievance officer, country of origin, the 30-day prior price rule, dark patterns, plus a self-audit record and a free daily price watch for Shopify stores."
url: https://disputekits.com/india-ecommerce-rules-check
---

NiyamCheck · for Indian online stores · updated 3 November 2026

# Get your online store ready for India's new e-commerce rules before 1 January 2027.

The Consumer Protection (E-Commerce) Amendment Rules, 2026 were notified on 9 September 2026 and apply from 1 January 2027, with no grace period reported. They change how you show discounts, ask for a yearly dark-pattern self-audit, and add to the details every store must show. This free check reads your store and lists what to fix.

- Legal name, address, customer care and grievance officer
- Country of origin, importer, MRP and best-before details
- Discounts and the 30-day "prior price" rule
- Fake timers, pre-ticked add-ons, hidden fees and other dark patterns
- A self-audit sheet for all 13 dark patterns, with a record to keep and text to show
- A free daily price record for Shopify stores, so you can prove your "was" prices

Free check

## Check my store

Your store's address

We read your public pages (home, one product, and your policy, contact, about and grievance pages). Nothing is changed and we don't keep the results. Works on Shopify, WooCommerce and most store builders.

## What changes on 1 January 2027

| Rule | What your store must do |
| --- | --- |
| 30-day prior price (Rule 4(13)) | When you show a discount, show the prior price too, and the prior price must be the **lowest price in the 30 days before the discount was announced**. Raising a price before a sale, or showing a list price you never sold at, won't work. |
| Dark patterns (Rule 4(15)) | Follow the Guidelines for Prevention and Regulation of Dark Patterns, 2023, **self-audit at least once a year**, and display the result prominently. |
| Seller details (Rule 4(2)) | Legal name, address of headquarters and branches, website, customer care contacts and the **grievance officer's** details. |
| Imported goods (Rule 4(6)) | Name and details of the importer, and the country of origin. |
| Before purchase | Best-before or use-before dates, return, refund, exchange, warranty and delivery terms, and the total price with taxes and charges. |
| Complaints | Acknowledge within 48 hours, resolve within one month, and give the buyer a copy of the recorded complaint. |

Sources: summaries by [India Briefing](https://www.india-briefing.com/news/india-ecommerce-amendment-rules-2026-key-changes-47308.html/), [PolicyEdge](https://www.policyedge.in/p/india-tightens-e-commerce-rules-on-discounts-search-results-and-dark-patterns-from-january-2027) and [LexComply](https://lexcomply.com/blog/consumer-protection-ecommerce-amendment-rules-2026-6ab1fea397f24). Read the notification in the Gazette or ask a lawyer before relying on any single point.

## Does this apply to my own website?

Very likely, if you sell your own products directly to buyers in India. The 2020 rules apply to "all models of e-commerce, including marketplace and inventory models", and an **inventory e-commerce entity** is one that owns the goods and sells them directly to consumers, including single-brand retailers ([Rules 2 and 3, 2020](https://trilegal.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/11/Consumer-Protection-E-Commerce-Rules-2020.pdf)). That describes most D2C brands on Shopify or WooCommerce. If you only sell on Amazon or Flipkart, the marketplace carries most duties, but you still have to give it your details, including GSTIN or Udyam number.

## Do these first

- Run the check above and fix every "Fix before 1 Jan" item.
- Appoint a grievance officer and put their name, designation, email and phone on a Grievance page linked from the footer.
- If you run sales, start the price watch below now, so by 1 January you have a 30-day record for every product.
- Fill in the self-audit, fix anything you answer "yes" to, and put the result text in your footer.

## Dark pattern self-audit

The rules ask for a self-audit at least once a year, with the result shown on your site. They don't say how, so this sheet goes through the 13 dark patterns listed in the 2023 Guidelines. Items the store check can see are marked after you run it. Answer each one honestly, then make the record.

Store name or address

Done by (name and role)

## Free 30-day price watch (Shopify stores)

To follow the 30-day rule you need to know your lowest price for every product over the last 30 days, and be able to show it if asked. Start the watch and we record your public product prices every day. When a product is on sale, it shows whether the "was" price is above the lowest price of the 30 days before the sale.

Your Shopify store's address

We read only the public product list every store has (/products.json, first 250 products). No login, no app to install. You get a private link to your record; keep it safe.

## Questions

### Is the self-audit record a legal certificate?

No. The rules ask the store to audit itself and display the outcome. This gives you a structured record and wording to display. It isn't issued by the government, a lawyer or an auditor.

### Does a clean check mean my store complies?

No. The check reads public pages. It can't see checkout, invoices, emails, your app or how you handle complaints, and it isn't legal advice. Use it as a checklist.

### What is the "prior price" for a product I just launched?

The rules talk about the lowest price in the 30 days before the discount. For a product sold for less than 30 days, the summaries we read don't say. The safe choice is not to show a "was" price until it has sold at that price for 30 days.

### Will there be a Shopify app?

We plan one that keeps the price record inside your Shopify admin and flags "was" prices as you edit them. It isn't available yet; until then, the free price watch above does the recording.

### Who runs this?

DisputeKit, run by Shubhankar Sharma in India. Not affiliated with the Government of India, Shopify or any law firm. See [contact](https://disputekits.com/contact).