The Superintendence of Industry and Commerce (Superintendencia de Industria y Comercio – SIC) imposed sanctions on ten companies that promoted and marketed goods and services through electronic means during Black Friday 2024. The aggregate fines exceed COP 3,000,000,000.
The authority conducted monitoring and verification of approximately sixty commercial establishments to assess compliance with consumer protection regulations (Régimen de Protección al Consumidor), particularly those governing information disclosure and advertising. The SIC identified multiple practices that infringed consumer rights, including the following:
• Requiring invoices or additional documentation as a condition to exercise statutory warranty rights (derecho de garantía).
• Failing to provide clear information regarding the terms and conditions of promotions, including manner, timing, place of access, requirements, restrictions, and delivery deadlines.
• Omitting sufficient information about promoted products, particularly with respect to quantity, quality, or availability.
• Failing to provide truthful, clear, and complete information concerning manufacturing processes, intended use, instructions, care, or relevant warnings.
• Lacking adequate mechanisms for the submission of petitions, complaints, and claims (peticiones, quejas y reclamos – PQR).
• Failing to include a visible hyperlink on company websites redirecting users to the Colombian consumer protection authority, in breach of applicable e-commerce standards (comercio electrónico).
• Infringing consumers’ right to claim and obtain replacement of gift cards in cases of loss or misplacement, undermining minimum consumer protection guarantees.
The SIC reaffirmed its commitment to intensify inspection, oversight, and enforcement actions (inspección, vigilancia y control) throughout 2024 and 2025. The objective is clear: safeguard consumer rights in digital environments and ensure that e-commerce practices in Colombia comply strictly with applicable law.
