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New Consumer Protection Act

Search 25th July, 2020 Spotlight here: http://www.newsonair.com/Main_Audio_Bulletins_Search.aspx   

Topic: General Studies 2:

• Mechanisms, laws, institutions and Bodies constituted for the protection and betterment of people 
• Statutory, regulatory and various quasi-judicial bodies. 

In news: 

• The Consumer Protection Act, 2019 came in to force from 20th July 2020.  
• The new Act will empower consumers and help them in protecting their rights through its various notified Rules and provisions like Consumer Protection Councils, Consumer Disputes Redressal Commissions, Mediation, Product Liability and punishment for manufacture or sale of products containing adulterant / spurious goods. 

Central Consumer Protection Authority (CCPA)  

• Act includes establishment of the Central Consumer Protection Authority (CCPA) to promote, protect and enforce the rights of consumers.   
• The CCPA will be empowered to conduct investigations into violations of consumer rights and institute complaints / prosecution, order recall of unsafe goods and services, order discontinuance of unfair trade practices and misleading advertisements, impose penalties on manufacturers/endorsers/publishers of misleading advertisements. (includes e-commerce platforms) 

What stands out?

The Act to provide protection to buyers not only from traditional sellers but also from the new e-commerce retailers/platforms.

Under this act, every e-commerce entity is required to provide information relating to return, refund, exchange, warranty and guarantee, delivery and shipment, modes of payment, grievance redressal mechanism, payment methods, security of payment methods, charge-back options, etc. including country of origin which are necessary for enabling the consumer to make an informed decision at the pre-purchase stage on its platform.  

• E-commerce platforms have to acknowledge the receipt of any consumer complaint within forty-eight hours and redress the complaint within one month from the date of receipt under this Act. 
• The New Act introduces the concept of product liability and brings within its scope, the product manufacturer, product service provider and product seller, for any claim for compensation.
• The process: The new Act provides for simplifying the consumer dispute adjudication process in the consumer commissions, which include, among others,  empowerment of the State and District Commissions to review their own orders, enabling a consumer to file complaints electronically and file complaints in consumer Commissions that have jurisdiction over the place of his residence, videoconferencing for hearing and deemed admissibility of complaints if the question of admissibility is not decided within the specified period of 21 days.
• Dispute Resolution: An Alternate Dispute Resolution mechanism of Mediation has been provided in the new Act.  This will simplify the adjudication process.  A complaint will be referred by a Consumer Commission for mediation, wherever scope for early settlement exists and parties agree for it. Mediation will be held in the Mediation Cells to be established under the aegis of the Consumer Commissions.  There will be no appeal against settlement through mediation.
• Price: As per the Consumer Disputes Redressal Commission Rules, there will be no fee for filing cases upto Rs. 5 lakh. There are provisions for filing complaints electronically, credit of amount due to unidentifiable consumers to Consumer Welfare Fund (CWF).  The State Commissions will furnish information to Central Government on a quarterly basis on vacancies, disposal, pendency of cases and other matters. 
• Punishment: The Act provides for punishment by a competent court for manufacture or sale of adulterant/spurious goods. The court may, in case of first conviction, suspend any licence issued to the person for a period of up to two years, and in case of second or subsequent conviction, cancel the licence.
• Other rules: Under this new Act, besides general rules, there are Central Consumer Protection Council Rules, Consumer Disputes Redressal Commission Rules, Appointment of President & Members in State/District Commission Rules, Mediation Rules, Model Rules and E-Commerce Rules and Consumer Commission Procedure Regulations, Mediation Regulations and Administrative control over State Commission & District Commission Regulations.

Did You Know? December 24 is observed as National Consumer Day as the Consumer Protection Act, 1986 received the assent of the President on this day.

Connecting the Dots:

1. Consumer welfare and protection assume special significance in the era of information explosion. Comment. Also, examine the protective measures available.
2. What are your views on the level of awareness with regard to consumer disputes jurisprudence in India? Which are some of the statutory and regulatory bodies working in this field? Discuss.