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SUB-REGIONAL FUNCTIONAL UPDATE / JDF
The Consumer Protection Act 2019
Ravinder Reddy
The Act will substantially
enhance the scope of
protection afforded to
consumers.
he new Consumer Protect Act, 2019 (Act) bill has received assent
from the President on 9 August 2019 and it will come into force
Ton the date of Notification by the Central Government. With the
changes brought in economic liberalization, globalization of markets
and digitalization of products and services, the new Act proposes a
slew of measures, tightens the existing rules and enhances consumer
rights to further safeguard their rights in a digital economy and
expands the scope and simplifies the process for complaints. The Act
will replace the three decades old Consumer Protection Act 1986.
Key Highlights
Regulator: To strengthen consumer rights, the Act proposes to
establish a central regulator, the Central Consumer Protection
Authority (CCPA). CCPA address issues related to consumer rights,
unfair trade practices, misleading advertisements and to impose
penalties for selling faulty and fake products which are prejudicial to
the interests of the consumers. CCPA is empowered to inquire into and
investigate through a separate agency setup, file complaints Suo-
motto and intervene in matters before the Consumer Commissions
established under the Act.
Product liability: A significant addition in the Act is the introduction of
“product liability” whereby manufacturers and sellers of products or
services will be responsible for compensating for any harm caused to
the consumer by defective products, manufactured or sold, or for
deficiency in services. Another newly introduced concept is that of
“unfair contracts” aimed to protect consumers from unilaterally
skewed and unreasonable contracts which favour manufacturers or
service providers.
The Act also amends the definition of “goods” to include “food” as
defined in the Food Safety and Standards Act, 2006. This would also
bring the meteorically rising number of food delivery platforms within
the fold of the Act.
Pecuniary Jurisdiction: Pecuniary jurisdiction has been substantially
increased. Consumers shall make complaints involving claims up to INR
10 Million (approx. 140,585 USD) to the District Commission,
complaints involving claims between INR 10 Million (approx. 140,585
USD) to 100 Million (approx. 1,405,850 USD) to the State Commission