Question raising

Zhu heard that a health product produced by a foreign manufacturer has beauty and skincare effects, but because the product is not sold in China, Zhu purchased a box from a cross-border e-commerce platform's overseas shopping store for trial and spent 350 yuan. On the fifth day after placing the order, Zhu received the health products shipped from the store. The appearance of this health product is the same as the pictures displayed in the store, but there are no Chinese labels and instructions on the outer packaging. Zhu believes that imported health products do not have Chinese labels and instructions, which do not comply with China's food safety regulations. He requests a refund of 350 yuan and compensation of 3500 yuan from overseas shopping stores. But the overseas Taobao store refused to refund or pay compensation on the grounds that Zhu had already been opened. Zhu filed a lawsuit against the platform provider and overseas Taobao store as defendants, demanding that (1) the overseas Taobao store refund the purchase price of the product; (2) Pay ten times the compensation for the product price to the overseas Taobao store; (3) The platform provider shall bear joint and several liability for compensation.

Lawyer analysis

The court believes that the focus of controversy in this case is: 1. Whether Zhu can demand a "refund of one and compensation of ten"; 2、 Should platform providers bear joint and several liability.

Regarding dispute point one, according to legal provisions, imported food should comply with China's national food safety standards, be inspected and qualified by the entry-exit inspection and quarantine agency in accordance with relevant laws and administrative regulations on import and export commodity inspection, and be accompanied by qualification certification materials in accordance with the requirements of the national entry-exit inspection and quarantine department. Imported pre packaged food should have Chinese labels. Without Chinese labels, it cannot be imported. The burden of proof for food meeting quality standards should be borne by the food seller. In this case, the health products involved do not have Chinese labels and instructions, and are considered non imported food. The overseas shopping store also did not provide any evidence of qualified inspection and quarantine of imported goods to prove that the health products meet China's food safety standards. Therefore, this health product does not comply with China's food safety regulations, and the online store should refund the payment to Zhu. At the same time, as a seller, overseas Taobao stores selling food that does not meet China's food safety standards, despite clear regulations on imported food inspection, quarantine, and labeling, should be regarded as selling food that knowingly does not meet the food safety standards. Zhu demands that overseas Taobao stores compensate ten times the purchase price, which has corresponding factual and legal basis.

Regarding the second point of dispute, Article 44 of the Consumer Rights and Interests Protection Law stipulates: "If a consumer purchases goods or receives services through an online trading platform and their legitimate rights and interests are damaged, they may demand compensation from the seller or service provider. If the provider of the online trading platform cannot provide the seller or service provider's real name, address, and effective contact information, the consumer may also demand compensation from the provider of the online trading platform. If the provider of the online trading platform makes a promise that is more favorable to the consumer, they shall fulfill the promise. After the provider of the online trading platform compensates, they have the right to recover from the seller or service provider.". If a provider of an online trading platform knowingly or should have known that a seller or service provider has used its platform to infringe upon the legitimate rights and interests of consumers and has not taken necessary measures, they shall bear joint and several liability with the seller or service provider in accordance with the law. " In this case, after Zhu filed a complaint to the cross-border e-commerce platform, the platform customer service promptly contacted the overseas shopping store to coordinate and handle the situation, and provided feedback to Zhu. The platform has fulfilled its obligations and there is no fault. Zhu also did not provide evidence to prove that the platform provider knew or should have known that the overseas shopping store used the platform to infringe on its legitimate rights and interests without taking necessary measures. Therefore, Zhu's lawsuit requesting platform providers to assume compensation liability lacks factual and legal basis.

In this case, imported food purchased by consumers through the internet should have Chinese labels and instructions, and should comply with the food safety standards stipulated by Chinese laws and regulations. When consumers' rights are infringed upon, they can claim a "refund of ten times the payment" from the platform seller, which means refunding the purchase price and paying ten times the compensation amount; If the platform cannot provide the seller's real name, address, and valid contact information, consumers can demand compensation from the platform provider; If the platform provider knowingly or should have known that the seller has used the platform to infringe upon the legitimate rights and interests of consumers without taking necessary measures, consumers may demand that the platform provider and the seller bear joint and several liability.