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The action comes after CCPA examined Rapido’s claims such as “Auto in 5 min or Get Rs 50” and “Guaranteed Auto”, which were found to be “false, misleading and unfair to consumers”.
The regulator’s investigation revealed that disclaimer “T&C Apply” in Rapido’s ads were displayed in “extremely small and unreadable font”.
The Central Consumer Protection Authority (CCPA) has imposed a penalty of Rs 10 lakh on ride-hailing platform Rapido for misleading advertisements and unfair trade practices. The authority has also directed the company to immediately discontinue the misleading campaigns and reimburse affected consumers in full.
“The Central Consumer Protection Authority (CCPA) has ordered Rapido (Roppen Transportation Services Pvt. Ltd.) to pay penalty of Rs 10,00,000 for publishing misleading advertisement and unfair trade practice,” the consumer affairs ministry said in a statement.
The action comes after the CCPA examined Rapido’s claims such as “Auto in 5 min or Get Rs 50″ and “Guaranteed Auto”, which were found to be “false, misleading and unfair to consumers”, according to the statement.
According to the CCPA order, customers who availed the “Auto in 5 min or Get Rs 50″ offer but did not receive the promised compensation must now be reimbursed without delay or conditions.
“After detailed examination, CCPA has held these advertisements to be false, misleading and unfair to consumers and has directed to discontinue the misleading advertisements with immediate effect,” the ministry said.
Misleading Terms and Hidden Conditions
The regulator’s investigation revealed that disclaimer “T&C Apply” in Rapido’s ads were displayed in “extremely small and unreadable font”. The promised Rs 50 benefit was not paid in currency but in “Rapido coins” worth up to Rs 50, which could only be redeemed for bike rides and expired within seven days.
Further, while the ads prominently displayed the guarantee, the terms and conditions stated that the assurance was being offered by individual drivers, not Rapido. The CCPA said this amounted to an attempt by the company to shift liability away from itself.
The consumer affairs ministry noted that, “Such restrictions materially reduced the value of the offer and effectively compelled consumers to use another service from Rapido within an unreasonably short time.”
Rising Consumer Complaints
Complaints against Rapido have surged in recent months. Data from the National Consumer Helpline (NCH) showed 1,224 complaints against the company between June 2024 and July 2025, compared with 575 complaints during April 2023-May 2024. Many of these related to deficiencies in service, non-refunds, overcharging, and failure to deliver promised services, including the “5-minute” guarantee. Most of the grievances remain unresolved despite being shared with the company.
Rapido, which operates in over 120 cities, ran the misleading campaign for nearly 1.5 years across multiple regional languages, the CCPA said.
Legal Basis And Consumer Advisory
The watchdog ruled that Rapido’s ads violated the Guidelines for Prevention of Misleading Advertisements and Endorsements, 2022, which state that disclaimers cannot contradict main claims or conceal material information.
The CCPA, established under the Consumer Protection Act, 2019, invoked its powers under Sections 10, 20 and 21 to impose the penalty and direct corrective action.
Urging consumers to be cautious about tall promises in advertisements, the authority advised people to report misleading ads or unfair trade practices through the National Consumer Helpline by calling 1915, or via the NCH app and website.
Haris is Deputy News Editor (Business) at news18.com. He writes on various issues related to personal finance, markets, economy and companies. Having over a decade of experience in financial journalism, Haris h…Read More
Haris is Deputy News Editor (Business) at news18.com. He writes on various issues related to personal finance, markets, economy and companies. Having over a decade of experience in financial journalism, Haris h… Read More
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