Bundled Fee Ban for Marketplaces: What the 2026 E-Commerce Amendment Means for Sellers

Marketplaces in India will not be allowed to collect bundled fees for services unrelated to their platform from 1 January 2027, with an exception for loyalty and membership programmes. The Department of Consumer Affairs put this into the Consumer Protection (E-Commerce) (Amendment) Rules, 2026, and the Press Information Bureau announced it on 10 September 2026. The release does not define "unrelated", so how far this reaches into seller fees is not confirmed as of November 2026. This is general information, not legal advice.

What does the bundled fee rule say?

The government release says marketplace e-commerce entities "shall not collect bundled fees for services unrelated to the e-commerce platform", subject to the specified exception for loyalty or membership programmes. The gazette text, published on the Department's website, says no marketplace shall "collect any bundled fees from users for services provided on the e-commerce platform for any other services that are unrelated" to the platform. A law-firm summary numbers the new clause as Rule 5(7). The proviso says nothing in the clause applies to any loyalty or membership programme, or to any benefit, service, offer or incentive given under it.

We have not read the gazette text itself. The summaries agree on the idea, but they do not give examples of what a bundled fee looks like. Read the notified rules before you rely on any clause number.

Who is covered: marketplaces, shoppers or sellers?

The rule is written for marketplace e-commerce entities. In the Indian rules, a marketplace is the platform that gives a digital space for a seller to sell to a buyer, as opposed to an inventory-based entity. Amazon.in, Flipkart, Meesho and the quick commerce apps that list third-party sellers all sit on the marketplace side.

The gazette text says the fee is collected "from users". In everyday platform language, "user" usually means the shopper. Our reading is that the clause is aimed at charges added to a shopper's order, for example a fee for an add-on that has nothing to do with buying the goods. That is an interpretation, not something the sources say outright.

What we could not confirm:

• Whether "users" in the rule includes sellers.
• Whether seller-side charges such as closing fees, shipping fees, ads or storage are touched at all.
• What penalty applies. The sources we opened name none; contraventions after 1 January 2027 fall under the Consumer Protection Act, 2019.

What is a bundled fee, in practice?

No source defines it, so here is a neutral way to think about it. A bundled fee is a single charge that packs together several services, some of which have no link to the platform's marketplace service. The rule targets the "unrelated" part.

For example, a shopper pays ₹49 at checkout labelled "convenience and protection". If that ₹49 includes an insurance product or a subscription the shopper did not ask for, it would be the kind of charge the rule is written to catch. If it only covers handling of the order, it is a platform fee of a different kind and is not obviously affected. We cannot say how the Department would treat either case.

Do not read this as a list of banned fees. The legal test is in the notified wording, and the department's views will show up in enforcement.

Does it change my seller commission or fee statement?

Not on the face of the sources. The rule's stated target is fees collected in connection with services on the platform from users, and the government release frames it as consumer protection. Neither Amazon nor Flipkart had published a seller notice on this as of November 2026, in anything we could open.

What you can do now is check your own fee statements:

1. Download the last three months of settlement reports from your seller portal.
2. List every fee line: commission or referral fee, fixed or closing fee, shipping or weight fee, collection or payment fee, ad spend, storage, returns fees.
3. Mark any line you cannot match to a named service in the platform's published fee schedule.
4. Ask your account manager, in writing, what that line pays for.

Our marketplace payout deductions calculator shows how the usual deductions stack up, so you can spot a line that does not fit.

What about membership and loyalty programmes?

They are exempt. A paid membership that gives free delivery or early sale access can keep charging its fee, together with the benefits, offers or incentives under it.

For sellers, the one practical effect is on discounts. Membership offers often involve platform-funded or seller-funded price cuts. If you are asked to fund a members-only price, check that the discount is shown correctly under the separate 30-day prior-price rule; see the prior price rule explained.

When does it start, and what happens to this year's sales?

The amended rules come into force on 1 January 2027. Legal summaries say they do not apply retrospectively, so sales and fees before that date, including the 2026 festive season, are not covered.

The amendment was notified on 9 September 2026, and the PIB release is dated 10 September 2026. For the other changes in the same package, see our overview of the 2026 e-commerce rules amendment.

What should a seller do before 1 January 2027?

1. Read every seller-terms update from your marketplace in November and December. Platforms often change fee schedules and agreements before new rules start.
2. Keep your own record of the fee schedule that applied to you on each date. If a charge moves or is renamed, you will have the before and after.
3. Do not stop paying a charge on your own reading of the rule. Raise it with the platform first; any dispute should be handled under your seller agreement.
4. If a marketplace asks you to collect or pass on a fee to shoppers, such as a handling or packaging charge, ask a lawyer whether the new clause applies to you.
5. Brief whoever reconciles your payouts that line names may change in January.

What the rule does not decide

It does not fix what a platform may charge sellers, set a commission cap, or ban sponsored listings. It does not touch ad pricing. Sponsored listings have their own rule: they must be clearly and prominently disclosed. See sponsored listing disclosure for that. The new search manipulation clause is separate as well; see our guide to search ranking manipulation.

FAQ

When does the bundled fee ban start? It starts on 1 January 2027, when the Consumer Protection (E-Commerce) (Amendment) Rules, 2026 come into force. Sales made before that date are not covered by the new rules, according to a law-firm summary.

Does the ban apply to seller commission or referral fees? Not confirmed. The text summarised in the sources speaks of fees collected from users in connection with services on the platform. Whether sellers count as users for this clause is not stated in anything we opened, so ask the marketplace and a lawyer.

Is there any exception? Yes, one. Loyalty and membership programmes are exempt, including the benefits and offers under them. No other exception is named in the government release.

What is the penalty for charging a bundled fee? Not specified in the sources we read. Legal summaries say contraventions on or after 1 January 2027 attract the applicable provisions of the Consumer Protection Act, 2019.

Does Amazon or Flipkart charge bundled fees today? We cannot say. Neither platform had published a statement on the rule in anything we could open as of November 2026, and we do not know which of their current charges the Department would class as bundled.

Should I ask for a refund of past fees? The rules do not apply to anything before 1 January 2027, so the rule gives no basis for a claim on earlier charges. Your seller agreement and the Indian Contract Act govern earlier disputes; ask a lawyer.

Next step

Pull your last three settlement reports and label every fee line against the platform's fee schedule. If the lines do not match, or you manage several marketplaces, Blooprint's catalogue and listing optimisation and account teams can help review them.