The State Government of Andhra Pradesh on 15th July 2022, has published the Consumer Protection (Direct Selling) Rules, 2021 which shall apply to all goods and services bought or sold through direct selling and to all direct selling entity which is not establishment in India but offers goods or services to consumers in India.
As per this rules, every direct selling entity shall maintain at its registered office, either manually or electronically all such documents as required under any law for the time being in force, including the following documents or records as may be applicable:
- Certificate of incorporation.
- Memorandum of association and article of association
- Permanent account number and tax deduction and collection account number
- Income tax returns
- Balance sheet, Audit report and such other relevant reports.
- Certificate of importer-exporter code etc.
Every direct selling entity shall have a minimum of one physical location as its registered office within India and make a self-declaration to the effect that it has complied with the provisions of these and is not involved in any pyramid scheme or money circulation scheme.
Further, the entity shall maintain and update website with all relevant details of that entity, including the contact information which is current and updated, details of its nodal officer, grievance redressal officer, its management, products, product information, price, and grievance redressal mechanism for consumers.
Every direct selling entity shall maintain a record of all its direct sellers, including their identity proof, address proof, email and such other contact information.
