New Delhi, 16 January (H.S.): The Central Consumer Protection Authority (CCPA) imposed ₹10 lakh penalties each on Amazon, Flipkart, Meta (Facebook Marketplace), and Meesho on Friday for listing and facilitating sales of unauthorized walkie-talkies, alongside ₹1 lakh fines on Chimiya, JioMart, Talk Pro, and Maskman Toy, totaling ₹44 lakh across eight e-commerce platforms.

Suo motu action under the Consumer Protection Act, 2019, and telecommunications laws followed identification of over 16,970 non-compliant listings on 13 platforms—including TradeIndia, Antariksh Technologies, VardanMart, IndiaMart, and Krishna Mart—after issuing notices. Meesho, Meta, Chimiya, JioMart, and Talk Pro have settled fines; outstanding payments are awaited from others.

Investigations revealed platforms enabling sales of Personal Mobile Radios (PMR) operating beyond the license-free 446.0-446.2 MHz band without mandatory Equipment Type Approval (ETA) certification, violating regulations requiring prior licensing and technical clearance.

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Hindusthan Samachar / Jun Sarkar