Consumer protection is the practice of safeguarding buyers of goods and services, and the public, against unfair practices in the marketplace. Consumer protection measures are established by law.

Consumer protection act and gavel on a table.

Consumer Protection Act, 2019

Consumer Protection Act, 2019 is an Act of the Parliament of India. It repeals and replaces the Consumer Protection Act, 1986. The Act features focuses on giving customer more power by taking transparency to another level. The new Act proposes a slew of measures and tightens the existing rules to further safeguard consumer rights.

It is an Act to provide for protection of the interests of consumers and for the said purpose, to establish authorities for timely and effective administration and settlement of consumers' disputes and for matters connected therewith or incidental thereto.

This new Act 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.

This Act also empowers authorities 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. The rules for prevention of unfair trade practice by e-commerce platforms are also covered under this Act.

The term 'consumer' is defined under the CPA 2019 as any person who buys goods or services for consideration but excludes any person who makes a purchase for 'commercial use', with the exception of goods bought for the purpose of earning livelihood by means of self-employment.

The E-Commerce Rules apply to:

all goods/services bought or sold over digital or electronic network, including digital products
marketplace e-commerce entities (Marketplace Entities) and inventory e-commerce entities (Inventory Entities)
all e-commerce retail, including multi-channel single brand retailers and single brand retailers in single and multiple formats such as single brand retailers who use multiple distribution channels such as offline retails stores in addition to e-commerce, and
all forms of unfair trade practices (as defined under the CPA 2019) across all models of e-commerce

Consumer Protection (E-Commerce) Rules, 2020

Consumer Protection Act, 2019 is an Act of the Parliament of India. It repeals and replaces the Consumer Protection Act, 1986. The E-Commerce Rules apply to: Implications for B2C and B2B entities. Presence in India. Duties of E-commerce Entities. Liabilities of Marketplace Entities. Duties of Sellers using Marketplace Entities. Liabilities of Inventory Entities.

Consumer Protection (Mediation) Regulations, 2020

The Regulations provide for a mediation cell comprising a panel of mediators on the recommendation of a selection committee consisting of the President and a member of that Commission for matters relating to consumer disputes.

The Regulations aims at facilitating a voluntary resolution of the disputes between the parties, assist them in removing the misunderstandings, if any, and generating options to resolve their disputes, but shall not impose any term or any settlement upon the parties. The mediator should explain the terms of the agreement, to the parties, before obtaining their respective signatures on it.

Mediation is the need of the hour for the speedy and efficient disposal of consumer cases and it's commendable looking at the way the government has a clear plan to employ mediators who can solve disputes, thereby, adding less burden on the judiciary.

As per the Regulations Tentative Cause List of cases to be heard by the Consumer Commission in the following entire week shall be made ready before the close of the working hours of the preceding week and displayed on the notice board and shall also be hosted on the website of the Consumer Commission. Regulations also specifies the nomenclature to be given to the complaints, appeals etc. The Regulations also sets the timeline for filing of matters before commission.

The limitation period under the Regulations is as follow:

Revision Petition shall be filed within 90 days from the date of receipt of certified copy of the order.
Application for setting aside the ex-parte order under Section 61 or dismissal of the complaint in default shall be maintainable if filed within thirty days from the date of the order or date of receipt of the order.
An application for review under Sections 40, 50 and 60 shall be filed to the District Commission, the State Commission and the National Commission, respectively, within thirty days from the date of the order.

Consumer Commission Procedure Regulations, 2020

The Regulations provide the uniform procedure to be adopted in resolving the dispute of a consumer before any of the Commission. The Regulations specifies arrangements in Consumer Commission, hearing hours, dress code etc.

The Consumer Protection Act, 1986

The Consumer Protection Act, 1986 was an Act of the Parliament of India enacted in 1986 to protect the interests of consumers in India. The Consumer Protection Act, 1986 seeks to provide for better protection of the interests of consumers and for the purpose, to make provision for the establishment of Consumer councils and other authorities for the settlement of consumer disputes and for matter connected therewith.

The Consumer Protection Act, 1986 (COPRA) was an Act of the Parliament of India enacted in 1986 to protect the interests of consumers in India. It is now replaced by the Consumer Protection Act, 2019.

This is an important landmark legislation in the field of consumer protection as it provides for establishment of three-tier quasi-judicial consumer disputes Redressal machinery at the District, States and National levels to render simple, inexpensive and speedy justice to consumers. These Redressal agencies have the jurisdiction to adjudicate the complaints received from consumers against any defect in the goods purchased or deficiencies in the services availed or any other trade practice. The Act also provides for establishment of Consumer Protection Councils at the Central, State and District levels which are Advisory Bodies to promote and protect the rights of consumers.

The Consumer Protection Act, 1986 has been earlier amended three times in the years 1991, 1993 & 2002 to make the act more purposeful in order to widen the scope and to strengthen the functioning of Consumer Fora further amendment is under process.

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