The number of cases of fraud registered against e-commerce companies at the National Consumer Helpline have risen sharply in the current fiscal.

As many as 5,620 fraud dockets have been registered under the e-commerce platform in the first eight months of the ongoing fiscal, compared to 4,955 cases registered in fiscal 2018-19, said the Minister of Commerce and Industry, Piyush Goyal, in a written reply in the Lok Sabha on Wednesday.

“The portal www.consumerhelpline.gov.in has been developed to provide a platform to consumers to register their complaints. Further, NCH has partnered some companies to resolve their customer complaints. This is an alternate grievance redressal method, and is a completely voluntary initiative taken up by these companies,” the Minister said.

Since August 2016, a total of 13,993 fraud cases have been registered on the platform.

The NCH’s advise to consumers who have been hit by fraudulent transactions is to lodge an FIR /make a police complaint or write to the cyber cell, if the company is not traceable, the Minister added.

India’s e-commerce market is likely to touch $84 billion in 2021 from $24 billion in 2017 according to industry estimates. The prominent e-commerce companies doing business in the country include Flipkart, Amazon, BigBasket and Snapdeal.