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The bill regarding the Consumer Protection Act was raised in the Lok Sabha on 8th July 2019 and passed on 6th August 2019. The Act came into effect by July 2020 after the establishment of the effectiveness of the Central Consumer Protection Authority. Based on these pieces of information, the study will further explore the background of the establishment of this specific Act. The study has the intention of including silent features and significance as well as offering a better understanding.
Background of the Consumer Protection Act
Globalization has changed the market scenario of India along with the behaviour of customers. As a customer is considered the spine of the market, for ensuring the consumers’ welfare rights this specific bill has been raised in the Lok Sabha of the Indian Parliament. After identifying the changes in the dynamics of the market, a need has been raised to enact new regulations for protecting the rights of consumers in a more efficient manner. The emphasis of the Act has been able to bolster the rights of the consumers. This specific COPRA has incorporated 107 sessions and the VIII chapters.
Salient Features of the Act
The COPRA, 2019, winding the definition of a customer, has imposed regulatory orders regarding the e-commerce as well:
- It has been stated that the dispute can be entertained by the state commission where values are included more than worth one corer
- The National Commission has the ability to exercise jurisdiction in case of a value exceeding INR 10 crore
- COPRA has identified and specified the unfair trade practices as well
- The COPRA 2019 has already enacted 6 rights of consumers including offering assurance about the variety of goods
- Misleading advertisements can be the subject of prohibition and misleading
Significance of the Act
Based on the previous explanation, it can be stated that COPRA 2019 has been able to have more significance in ensuring the welfare of customers in comparison to the previous version of the Consumer Act. Its significance lies in safeguarding the mentioned six rights of the consumers. The goods that are found to be hazardous for life, the customer requires to be protected against these. The consumers are required to be informed about the quantity, quality, standard, purity and many other details regarding the product while purchasing for ensuring the safety of consumers.
Rights of Consumers
In case of identification of competitive price of similar kinds of products, the consumers need to be informed previously about such circumstances. In such cases, the consumer may demand to know about the difference the similar products have or about the variety as well. The consumers’ interests need to be received due consideration at a forum that is appropriate. According to COPRA, 2019, if any seller or businessperson has been found to practice unfair trade can be imprisoned for 5 years. A fine worth 50 lakhs can be taken from the respective businessperson for misleading the consumers by offering wrong information about the product while selling the goods or service.
Consumer Redressal Agencies
Section 10 (1) of the COPRA bill 2019 provides the power to the Consumer Redressal agencies including District Forum, and the National and State Commission. Sections 10 to 15 of COPRA 2019 deal with the power and responsibilities offered to the district forum. Sections from 16 to 19 provide the power to the state commission for dealing with the grassroots level issue regarding consumer protection agencies. Power to the National Commission has been offered by the Act to deal with the appeals against the state commissions.
Conclusion
The current study has shed light on the terms and conditions that are stated that if any consumer has faced any issues while having service or good perches in, the consumer can file complaints against the service providers. This specific Act has been established for the replacement of the previous bill regarding Consumer protection that came into action in the year 1986. This improved version of this Act for consumers has ensured more power to the customers by offering more transparency. The study has highlighted the Rights of the consumers along with the explanation regarding the Consumer Redressal Agencies (CRA).
