The Central Consumer Protection Authority (CCPA) has imposed a penalty of Rs 10 lakh on ANI Technologies Private Limited, which operates the ride-hailing platform Ola, for soliciting additional payments from consumers before their journeys through its pre-ride 'tip' and 'add-on' feature, the Ministry of Consumer Affairs said in a release on Friday. The Authority directed Ola to discontinue the practice immediately, holding that it misleads consumers, amounts to an unfair trade practice and employs a dark pattern.

Source: The Hindu BusinessLine

Consumer Affairs Minister Pralhad Joshi said in a post on X that the CCPA had imposed the penalty for misleading pre-ride payment prompts and directed the discontinuation of the feature, calling it a firm step against dark patterns, unfair practices and misleading claims.

Source: The Hindu BusinessLine

The order, dated November 10, 2026, was passed by CCPA Chief Commissioner Nidhi Khare and Commissioner Anupam Mishra. The Authority found that messages such as 'Adding a tip might help increase the chances of getting a ride faster' and 'Tip now to boost the chances of getting a ride sooner' created a misleading impression that an extra payment could speed up ride confirmation. Customers were first offered pre-set amounts of Rs 10, Rs 20, Rs 30 and Rs 40, which were later raised, with the app allowing an add-on of up to Rs 499.

Source: Inc42

Ola's own booking data undercut those claims. The Authority recorded that customers paid around Rs 56 lakh in add-ons across Delhi, Bengaluru and Mumbai between June 1 and 15, 2026, while ride requests carrying an add-on were accepted far less often than those without one. The CCPA held that the omissions amounted to concealment of material information under Section 2(28)(iv) of the Consumer Protection Act, 2019, and that the interface used 'confirm shaming' — a dark pattern prohibited under the Guidelines for Prevention and Regulation of Dark Patterns, 2023 — by creating a sense of fear that refusing to pay could delay a ride.

Source: The Hindu BusinessLine

The practice was also found to violate Clause 14.15 of the Motor Vehicles Aggregators Guidelines, 2025. The Authority noted that the Ministry of Road Transport and Highways had clarified to all aggregators on August 11, 2026 that no prompt suggesting an additional payment may improve ride confirmation can be shown before a ride is completed. The proceedings began with a complaint received on May 16, 2025 about Ola's advance tipping feature.

Source: Inc42

Ola has been directed to forthwith discontinue every prompt, message, interface design or pre-set amount that nudges consumers to pay anything over and above the upfront fare before a journey is completed — whether it is called a tip, an add-on or an additional fare — to pay the Rs 10 lakh penalty within 15 days of receiving the order, and to file a compliance report in the same period. The penalty is the maximum prescribed for a first contravention; the order recorded Ola's standalone revenue from operations at about Rs 1,060 crore for 2024-25, against which Rs 10 lakh is less than 0.01 per cent. The CCPA had imposed a similar Rs 10 lakh penalty on Rapido in September 2026 over its advance tipping feature.

Source: Inc42