India, Dec. 5 -- The central consumer protection authority (CCPA) has reportedly imposed a penalty of INR 7 Lakh on quick commerce major Zepto over alleged use of 'dark patterns' and misleading price disclosures.

As per Livemint, the CCPA found that Zepto engaged in 'drip pricing', wherein mandatory fees surfaced late in the purchase flow. Additionally, the consumer rights protection body found that the platform deployed 'basket sneaking', under which default add-ons such as Zepto Pass were auto-selected for customers without explicit user consent.

CCPA's order, issued after a formal inspection in January this year, cited multiple breaches of the Consumer Protection Act, 2019 and the Guidelines for Prevention and Regulation of Dark Patt...