The Favourable Consumer Protection Act, 2019

The Favourable Consumer Protection Act, 2019 primarily protects the consumers’ six fundamental and basic rights: the right to choose, right to be informed, right to consumer education, right to safety, right to seek redressal, and right to be heard. These rights help the consumer get accurate information about the quantity, quality, purity, and standard of the products or services. The customer is considered a vital part of the economy, and it is essential to safeguard their rights for the betterment of the nation’s economy. Therefore, having legislation with sufficient balance and checkups is critical to the welfare of the customers.

Need of the Favourable Consumer Protection Act, 2019

Due to technological advancements, the Indian consumer market has witnessed a drastic transformation in the past two decades. Moreover, various technological developments have also been introduced, such as internet facilities, smartphones, advanced computer systems, etc. These changes are still in the flow, and technology is becoming easy to access and affordable every day.

In 1986, the Consumer Protection Act was introduced, the first legislative attempt to safeguard the customers’ rights and help them realise these rights. The act later became less influential because of technological advancements such as teleshopping, online shopping, and other changes in sellers’ and consumers’ selling and purchasing styles. This advancement leads to risky contracts, misleading advertisements on televisions and radios, etc., failing the 1986 Consumer Protection Act.

As an outcome of all these situations, it was decided that the Act needed modifications and changes, and the same happened in 2019; it was replaced with the Favourable Consumer Protection Act, 2019. This new act offers much more assistance in protecting the customers from fraudulent activities happening in the market. Furthermore, this act is also compliant with the adoption of digitalisation and the growing modern marketing styles.

Key Features of the Favourable Consumer Protection Act, 2019

Definition of consumer: A consumer is a person who buys a product or service from a seller for their personal use. However, a person buying products and services for reselling or commercial use is not considered a consumer.

Rights of consumers: There are six rights introduced for the protection of consumers: the right to choose, right to be informed, right to consumer education, right to safety, right to seek redressal, and right to be heard. Moreover, consumers have the right to know about the quantity, quality, purity, and standards of a product or service.

Central Consumer Protection Authority: The central government will be setting up a CCPA (Central Consumer Protection Authority) that will promote, give protection, and enforce the customer’s rights. It will control matters regarding violating consumer rights, unfair trade practices, false advertisements, etc.

Penalties for a misleading advertisement: The CCPA will penalise sellers or endorsers for promoting and presenting false advertisements. The penalty will be INR 10,00,000 and upto two years in jail. Moreover, this penalty can increase up to INR 50,00,000 and upto five years imprisonment in any severe case.

Consumer Disputes Redressal Commission: The CDRCs (Consumer Disputes Redressal Commissions) will be working at the national, state, and district levels. Additionally, consumers will be able to file complaints with CDRCs on various issues such as unfair trade practices, overcharging of a product or service, defective products or faulty services, offering goods and services that can cause life or health threats, etc.

Jurisdiction of CDRCs: The district-level CDRC will be dealing with issues with a value of INR 1 crore or less. The state-level CDRC will be dealing with issues with values of more than INR 1 crore and more petite than INR 10 crores. Furthermore, the national level CDRC will deal with cases with more than INR 10 crores.

Product liability: It means the liability of product manufacturers, service providers, or sellers for compensating customers for any injury or harm caused due to the use of faulty service or a defective product. As mentioned in the act, the consumer has to prove any condition of the aforementioned cases to claim compensation from sellers or manufacturers successfully.

Conclusion

The Favourable Consumer Protection Act, 2019 study material states that this act is revised and modified from the previous consumer protection act of 1986. The act assists in safeguarding the rights of the consumers and protects them from various fraudulent activities happening in the market. Moreover, if you think about who can file a complaint? The answer is a consumer; a consumer can file a complaint against the seller or the service provider for offering a defective product or a faulty service.