The Central Consumer Protection Authority (CCPA) has imposed a Rs 10 lakh penalty on Dial4Trade Technologies Pvt Ltd for facilitating the online listing, advertising and sale of Ammonium Nitrate without mandatory regulatory safeguards.

The CCPA has also directed the platform to immediately stop listing, hosting, advertising or facilitating the sale of Ammonium Nitrate and other substances classified as explosives under the Explosives Act, 1884.

The regulator found that the platform did not ensure key safeguards, including verification of sellers' PESO licences, buyer identity and licensing status, transaction traceability and adequate warnings regarding legal restrictions on the substance.

The CCPA rejected Dial4Trade's argument that it operates only as a B2B marketplace intermediary, noting that the platform allowed purchases in quantities as low as a single unit without institutional-buyer verification.

The Authority also held that the Consumer Protection (E-Commerce) Rules, 2020 apply to marketplace platforms regardless of their stated business model. It further said intermediary safe-harbour protection under the IT Act is subject to due-diligence requirements, and that reactive removal of listings alone was insufficient for regulated and hazardous substances.

The action is part of the CCPA's broader examination of e-commerce platforms over the unauthorised online sale of hazardous chemicals and explosive substances, including Ammonium Nitrate, Gun Powder, Picric Acid and PETN.