For the over 1.4 million sellers on Flipkart, the marketplace is more than a platform— it’s a business ecosystem. But like any bustling market, it requires vigilance to ensure that genuine, hardworking entrepreneurs aren't undercut by bad actors selling fakes or engaging in unfair practices.

To understand how Flipkart protects this ecosystem, we spoke with Sakait Chaudhary, Senior Vice President and Head of Flipkart Marketplace. He explains why "compliance" isn't just about rules—it’s about protecting seller reputation, and ensuring that honest businesses have the opportunity to thrive.

1. We often hear about "customer trust," but what is the philosophy when it comes to your seller partners?

Sakait Chaudhary: Our genuine sellers are the backbone of this marketplace, and our fundamental philosophy is simple: Protection and Proactive Enablement.

For a genuine seller to thrive, they need a fair playing field. If a bad actor comes in with counterfeit goods or an MRP mismatch, it hurts the honest seller just as much as the customer. So, our primary job is to safeguard the integrity of our marketplace. We don't just police the platform; we actively enable it to ensure that transparency and honesty are the foundations of success.

2. You mentioned weeding out bad actors. Does that start before a seller even joins?

Sakait Chaudhary: Absolutely. Protecting the platform starts at the gate. We have moved far beyond simply requesting a GST number and a PAN card. We now use a risk-based vetting model that is deliberately layered.

For example, we use Fraud Linkage Verification. We cross-reference technical signals — such as device IDs and pickup addresses — against historical fraud patterns. If a new applicant is linked to a previously blacklisted bad actor, the system flags them instantly. We also mandate GST Two-Factor Authentication (2FA) to prevent the use of fraudulent business documents.

“We are essentially checking the ID at the door to keep the neighborhood safe for our genuine partners.” - Sakait Chaudhary, Senior Vice President, Head of Flipkart Marketplace

3. With millions of listings, mistakes can happen. How do you ensure a genuine seller isn't unfairly penalized by an algorithm?

Sakait Chaudhary: This is crucial. We believe in a fair Due Diligence Process and have built a Notice and Takedown system designed for fairness.

First, we place the Burden of Proof on the accuser. If an IP owner claims a violation, they must submit extensive documentation. Second, we focus on Transparency. When a listing is taken down, the seller receives specific Reason Codes on their dashboard explaining exactly why. For first-time issues, we often send a warning email to help them course-correct rather than punishing them immediately.

Finally, we give the seller the Right to Contest. If a listing is flagged, they can submit counter-evidence, like original invoices. We want to be 100% sure before we take final action.

4. Intellectual Property violations can hurt both brands and genuine sellers. Do you have a specific program to address this?

Sakait Chaudhary: Yes, this is a key pillar of our Trust and Safety framework. We have established a robust Brand Protection Program, anchored by our 'Brand Assure' initiative.

Brand Assure empowers trademark owners to directly collaborate with us. It gives them full visibility into who is selling their products and a direct channel to report unauthorized listings. We have already onboarded over 11,000 brands to this program.

It’s about speed and accuracy. We have resolved over 53,000 IP incidents with a turnaround time of just 1.5 to 2 days. This protects the brand’s reputation and ensures that our authorized sellers don't lose business to counterfeits.

5. What about the technology? How does AI help the average seller and create a safe shopping experience for consumers?

Sakait Chaudhary: We use technology to handle the scale that humans can't. We have deployed several in-house capabilities within our cataloging processes, including Autoblock, Optical Character Recognition (OCR), Gen AI Multi-Modal LLMs such as CLIP, fuzzy matching, and many more, that can "see" products. They scan for text and image violations across millions of listings, helping us proactively block non-compliant listings.

“By proactively blocking over 300K potentially prohibited listings a month, we are essentially clearing the clutter so that genuine, high-quality listings get the visibility they deserve.” - Sakait Chaudhary, Senior Vice President, Head of Flipkart Marketplace

Crucially, this intervention acts as a firewall for consumer trust. By catching non-compliant or unsafe products before they ever reach the storefront, we actively engineer a safe shopping experience, ensuring customers can transact with confidence knowing that every product has passed through a rigorous digital safety net.

6. Compliance can be complex, especially for smaller sellers. How do you ensure they stay aware of these rules?

Sakait Chaudhary: We don't expect our sellers to be legal experts; that’s why education is a continuous process, not a one-time check.

It starts at Onboarding. Every new seller receives a 'Compliance Snapshot' and a Business Growth Guide that breaks down policies into simple terms. But regulations evolve, so we keep the conversation going all year long. We run Monthly Thematic Flyers and Webinars covering everything from packaging rules to digital safety. Before big events like The Big Billion Days, we host Seller Conclaves to ensure everyone is prepared.

We also train our Key Account Managers (KAMs) to be compliance coaches. Through these combined efforts — videos, modules, and direct outreach — we sensitize lakhs of our active sellers every month.

7. Security is often seen as a top-down approach. Do sellers have a say in this?

Sakait Chaudhary: Seller feedback is actually our early warning system. We want our sellers to be our eyes and ears.

Sellers use our Seller Support Channels to report malicious activity. We take these reports seriously and investigate linkages between abusive customer accounts and bad sellers to take graded action. Sellers also share valuable insights that our internal systems might miss. When a seller alerts us to a potential issue, we listen. This collaborative approach helps us make our detection models smarter, protecting the interests of consumers and honest sellers by more accurately identifying genuine products.