New e-commerce rules: How online discounts and search rankings will change
From January 2027, shoppers will get clearer benchmarks for advertised discounts and greater visibility into why products appear where they do in online searches. The changes are aimed at making e-commerce promotions and product discovery more transparent, without regulating the prices platforms or sellers can charge.
- Sep 21, 2026,
- Updated Sep 21, 2026 5:35 AM IST
New rules governing e-commerce platforms will bring greater transparency to online discounts and search rankings from January 1, 2027, with the government tightening disclosure requirements around how prices are presented and how products appear in search results.
The government has amended the Consumer Protection (E-Commerce) Rules, 2020, through the Consumer Protection (E-Commerce) (Amendment) Rules, 2026. The changes seek to address consumer concerns around pricing, sponsored listings, search manipulation and dark patterns, while maintaining what the government described as a balanced approach to regulation.
What changes for online discounts?
One of the most significant changes is the mandatory disclosure of a product's discounted price alongside its “prior price” whenever a price reduction is advertised.
The prior price has been defined as the lowest price at which the product or service was offered during the 30 days preceding the announcement of the discount.
This could make it harder for platforms or sellers to create the appearance of a steep discount by temporarily increasing a product's price before a sale.
Kartikey Agarwal, Team Manager at NFPRC Foundation, said the provision is aimed at making promotional claims easier for consumers to verify.
“A product ordinarily sold at ₹1,000, displayed at ₹1,500 shortly before a sale and then offered at ₹1,000, no longer yields a headline 33 per cent saving; the 30-day benchmark shows no reduction at all,” Agarwal said.
He added that the rule does not amount to government control over prices. “The rule caps nothing and dictates no price. It makes promotional claims comparable and verifiable. That is a disclosure obligation, not price control,” he said.
For shoppers, the change means the advertised discount will have to be viewed against a defined historical price rather than an arbitrary “original” or “MRP-like” reference.
What changes in search results?
The amended rules also prohibit e-commerce entities from manipulating search results or search indexes in a way that misleads users or adversely affects the relevance of results to their queries.
Platforms will also have to explain, in plain and intelligible language, the main parameters that are most significant in determining the ranking of products or sellers, along with their relative importance.
Agarwal said the provision does not require platforms to abandon their ranking systems. “That is not a mandate of algorithmic neutrality, and it does not stop platforms from ranking products — ranking is the service. What is barred is manipulation that misleads,” he said.
The distinction could be important for consumers because products appearing at the top of a search page can receive significantly greater visibility.
Raghunandan Saraf, Founder and CEO at Saraf Furniture, said clearer information would help consumers make more informed comparisons.
“Where a site shows up in search affects what people see first, and that can shape what they buy,” Saraf said. He added that if unfair boosting or hidden changes are curbed, listings could become more closely tied to what consumers are actually looking for.
Saraf also stressed the importance of distinguishing paid placements from organic results. “People should be able to spot when ads are shaping what they see,” he said.
The amended rules will take effect from January 1, 2027, giving e-commerce platforms time to revise pricing disclosures, search practices and related compliance systems before the new requirements come into force.
New rules governing e-commerce platforms will bring greater transparency to online discounts and search rankings from January 1, 2027, with the government tightening disclosure requirements around how prices are presented and how products appear in search results.
The government has amended the Consumer Protection (E-Commerce) Rules, 2020, through the Consumer Protection (E-Commerce) (Amendment) Rules, 2026. The changes seek to address consumer concerns around pricing, sponsored listings, search manipulation and dark patterns, while maintaining what the government described as a balanced approach to regulation.
What changes for online discounts?
One of the most significant changes is the mandatory disclosure of a product's discounted price alongside its “prior price” whenever a price reduction is advertised.
The prior price has been defined as the lowest price at which the product or service was offered during the 30 days preceding the announcement of the discount.
This could make it harder for platforms or sellers to create the appearance of a steep discount by temporarily increasing a product's price before a sale.
Kartikey Agarwal, Team Manager at NFPRC Foundation, said the provision is aimed at making promotional claims easier for consumers to verify.
“A product ordinarily sold at ₹1,000, displayed at ₹1,500 shortly before a sale and then offered at ₹1,000, no longer yields a headline 33 per cent saving; the 30-day benchmark shows no reduction at all,” Agarwal said.
He added that the rule does not amount to government control over prices. “The rule caps nothing and dictates no price. It makes promotional claims comparable and verifiable. That is a disclosure obligation, not price control,” he said.
For shoppers, the change means the advertised discount will have to be viewed against a defined historical price rather than an arbitrary “original” or “MRP-like” reference.
What changes in search results?
The amended rules also prohibit e-commerce entities from manipulating search results or search indexes in a way that misleads users or adversely affects the relevance of results to their queries.
Platforms will also have to explain, in plain and intelligible language, the main parameters that are most significant in determining the ranking of products or sellers, along with their relative importance.
Agarwal said the provision does not require platforms to abandon their ranking systems. “That is not a mandate of algorithmic neutrality, and it does not stop platforms from ranking products — ranking is the service. What is barred is manipulation that misleads,” he said.
The distinction could be important for consumers because products appearing at the top of a search page can receive significantly greater visibility.
Raghunandan Saraf, Founder and CEO at Saraf Furniture, said clearer information would help consumers make more informed comparisons.
“Where a site shows up in search affects what people see first, and that can shape what they buy,” Saraf said. He added that if unfair boosting or hidden changes are curbed, listings could become more closely tied to what consumers are actually looking for.
Saraf also stressed the importance of distinguishing paid placements from organic results. “People should be able to spot when ads are shaping what they see,” he said.
The amended rules will take effect from January 1, 2027, giving e-commerce platforms time to revise pricing disclosures, search practices and related compliance systems before the new requirements come into force.