Amity Law School

Submitted by – Tanya Singh

Submitted to – Dr. Rajeev kumar Singh
Enrolment no. – A8156121015
Semester – 1
Topic – Aims and objective of the
Consumer protection Act 2019
The Aims and objectives of the Consumer protection Act 2019

➢ Consumerism is a movement that promotes the interests of buyers of

goods and services.

➢ It’s main aim is to protect the consumer from unsafe or low quality of
products, fraudulent advertising , labelling , packing and business
practices that limits competition.

➢ It provides adequate information about the products. So that consumer

can take right decision in purchasing goods and services.

➢ It also tries to inform consumers of the effective means of getting

compensation for damage or inconvenient caused by defective products
and services.

➢ Due to increasing standards of life style, various consumer distresses like

the lapses in the services offered By various utilities the air lines ,
railways, telecommunications, electricity board , nursing homes etc. and
growing.

➢ It is the wholesalers and middlemen who indulge in illegal activities like

dumping of goods to create artificial scarcity and raise the prices of
commodities which will increase their profits.

So, consumerism is a national problem affecting every section of the

society such as men and women, young or old and youth or child.
• Hence, consumer protection is a form of social action which will be designed
to achieve well being of the one or group within a society.

• There is a need to extend consumerism in India which encompasses the set of

activities of government business enterprise and independent consumer
organisations that are designed to protect the rights and interests of consumers.
WHY THE NEED OF NEW LAW ?

Consumer markets have undergone huge transformation since the enactment of

the Consumer Protection Act in 1986.

Presence of increasingly complex products and services in the marketplace.

• The emergence of global supply chains, rise in international trade and the
rapid development of e- commerce.

• New delivery systems for goods and services and have provided new
opportunities for consumers.

• Equally, this has rendered the consumer vulnerable to new forms of unfair
trade and unethical business practices.

• Misleading advertisements, tele-marketing, multi-level marketing, direct

selling and e-tailing pose new challenges to consumer protection and will
require appropriate and swift executive interventions to prevent consumer
detriment.

Due to above cited reasons the Consumer Protection Bill, 2019 was passed by
the Indian Parliament on Aug 06, 2019, and later on signed by the President of
India.

This new act will replaced the old Consumer Protection Act, 1986.
OBJECTIVES OF NEW STATUTE

• Ease the overall process of consumer grievance redressal system

• A better mechanism to dispose consumer complaints in a speedy

manner.

• Help in disposal of large number of pending cases in consumer

courts across the nation

• The Consumer Protection Act was enacted to provide a simpler and

quicker redressal to consumer grievances. The Act seeks to promote and
protect the interest of consumers against deficiencies and defects in goods
or services. It also seeks to secure the rights of a consumer against unfair
trade practices, which may be practiced by manufacturers and traders. It
helped educate customers on the rights and responsibilities of being a
customer and how can he/she seek redressal in case of exploitation.

A Few Facts About Consumer Protection Act 1986

The Consumer Protection Act 1986 enhanced the judgmental power of
consumers, by making them understand what is right and wrong and undertake
the right decisions when buying any product or service. It curbed the business
malpractices generally being done to make profits, without caring whether the
well being of consumers and community is being hampered or not. That’s why
Right to Safety, Right to Information, Right to Choose, Right to Seek Redressal,
Right to be heard, Right to Consumer Education became the indispensable part
of this act.
As the technology has taken a storm over e-commerce, Digital branding has taken
a new shape. Why not! After all, it has become easier for consumers to order their
favourite things from the comfort of their couch. Convenient payment system has
also contributed towards an improved shopping experience
The Consumer Protection Act, 2019 came into practice On 30th July 2019,
Consumer Protection Bill, 2019 was passed by the Lok Sabha and then on 6th
August 2019, Rajya Sabha passed the bill. Finally, on 9th August 2019, The
Consumer Protection Act, 2019 (New Act) received the assent of the President of
India and was published in the official gazette, amending more than three decade
old act. This bill was introduced in the parliament by Mr. Ram Vilas Paswan, the
Minister of Consumer Affairs, Food and Public Distribution.
Definition of ‘Consumer’ as per the new act, Consumer Protection Act, 2019
‘Consumer’ is a person who avails the services and buys any good for self-use.
However, a person who buys goods or avail services for resale or commercial
purpose will not be considered as a ‘consumer’. The definition is applicable for
both types of transactions i.e. online and offline.

CONSUMER RIGHTS
Consumer rights is an insight into what rights consumer holds when it comes to
seller which provide the goods:

• Right to safety : It means right to be protected against the marketing of

goods and services, which are hazardous to life and property. Before
purchasing, consumers should insist on the quality of the products as well
as on the guarantee of the products and services.

• Right to be Informed: It means right to be informed about the quality,

quantity, potency, purity, standard and price of goods so as to protect the
consumer against unfair trade practices.

It means right to be assured , wherever possible of access to variety of goods

and services at competitive price. This right can be better exercised in a
competitive market where a variety of goods are available at competitive prices

• Right to be Heard: It means that consumer's interests will receive due

consideration at appropriate forums. It also includes right to be represented
in various forums formed to consider the consumer's welfare.
• Right to Seek Redressal: It means right to seek redressal against unfair
trade practices or unscrupulous exploitation of consumers. It also includes
right to fair settlement of the genuine grievances of the consumer.

• Right to Consumer Education: It means the right to acquire the knowledge

and skill to be an informed consumer throughout life . Ignorance of
consumers, particularly of rural consumers, is mainly responsible for their
exploitation.
Aim of Consumer Protection Act, 2019
The very new Consumer Protection Act, 2019 aims at providing the timely and
effective administration and settlement of consumer disputes with ways and
means to solve the consumer grievances speedily.
So, now without any further delay, let’s look at the Salient features of Consumer
Protection Act 2019:

1. All e-commerce transactions will be covered:

The Consumer Protection Act, 2019 has widened the definition of

‘consumer’. The definition now includes any person who buys any goods,
whether through offline or online transactions, teleshopping, electronic
mode, teleshopping, direct selling or multi-level marketing. In Consumer
Protection Act 1986, there was no inclusion of e-commerce transactions.
Now, under the new act -

Enhancement of Pecuniary Jurisdiction,

1. The district forum can now entertain those consumer complaints

where the value of goods or services paid does not exceed INR
1crore.
2. The State Commission can entertain disputes where such value is
more than INR 1Crore & less than 10 crore.
3. The National Commission can exercise jurisdiction where the value
exceeds INR 10Crore.
2. New product liability provisions proposed:

The provisions for product liability have been proposed under Consumer
Protection Act 2019. The defence that e-commerce platforms are merely
the ‘platforms’ or ‘aggregators’ will no longer be accepted. Now, the
manufacturer or a service provider has to compensate a consumer in case
he/she undergoes an injury or a loss due to defective goods or poor service.
For instance, if a mobile phone or any electronic appliance explodes due to
a manufacturing defect and harms the consumer, then the manufacturer
will be liable to compensate the consumer for the injury.
 The most significant impact of this provision impacts e-commerce
platforms. The product liability is now extended to sellers and service
providers along with manufacturers. This means e-commerce sites cannot
exclude the aggregators anymore. They will also be bearing the loss of
injury, if caused to any consumer.

The Consumer Protection Act,2019 has also introduced a specific broad

definition of Unfair Trade Practices. The 2019 Act has also widened the
definition of Unfair Trade Practices as compared to the 1986 Act which
now includes within its ambit online misleading advertisements; the
practice of not issuing bill/memo for the goods and services; failing to take
back defective goods or deactivate defective services and refund the
amount within the stipulated time mentioned in the bill or memo or within
30 days in the absence of such stipulation; and disclosing personal
information of a consumer unless such disclosure is in accordance with
law.

3. Establishment of Central Consumer Protection Authority:

The New Act has proposed the establishment of a regulatory authority. It

is the Central Consumer Protection Authority (CCPA), possessing wide
powers of enforcement. Headed by a Director-General, the CCPA will
have an investigation wing that may conduct inquiry or investigation into
consumer law violations.

The CCPA has been granted wide powers to take suo-moto actions, order
reimbursement of the price of goods/services, recall products, cancel
licenses and file class action suits, if a consumer complaint affects more
than 1 (one) individual.

4. Enact 6 rights of consumers:

The act offers 6 rights to the consumers:

Be protected against the marketing of goods, products or services which

are hazardous to life and property;

be informed about the quality, quantity, potency, purity, standard and price
of goods, products or services;

be assured, wherever possible, access to a variety of goods, products or

services at competitive prices;
 be heard and to be assured that consumers' interests will receive due
consideration at appropriate fora;

(v) seek redressal against unfair trade practice or restrictive trade practices
or unscrupulous exploitation of consumers;

Right to consumer education.

5. Prohibition and Penalties for misleading advertisements:

The Central Consumer Protection Authority (CCPA) will have the power
to impose fines on the manufacturers with upto 2 years of imprisonment
for publishing misleading or false advertisements. For example: Dhan
Varsha Laxmi Mantra, or expensive Tabeej to protect from bad evils. For
repeated offense, the manufacturer may attract imprisonment for upto 5
years and a fine of Rs 50 Lakhs.

The CCPA also prohibits the endorser from endorsing a misleading

advertisement of that particular product or service for 1 year. For every
further offence, the period of prohibition may extend to 3 years.

The Act also fixes the liability in case a consumer falls prey to unfair trade
practices under the influence of celebrities acting as brand ambassadors.
This provision clearly indicates that the endorser would need to take the
onus and exercise due diligence for verifying the claims made in the
advertisements.

6. Establishment of Consumer Disputes Redressal Commission:

This new act has enacted the provision of the establishment of the
Consumer Disputes Redressal Commissions (CDRCs) at the National,
State and District levels. This panel has been formed to entertain
complaints related to (i) Overcharging or deceptive charging (ii) Unfair or
restrictive trade practices (iii) Sale of hazardous goods and services that
may be hazardous to life (iv) Sale of defective goods or services

7. Provision for Alternate Dispute Resolution:

This New Act is quite convenient from the previous one, thanks to
Alternate Dispute Resolution mechanism, that makes the process of dispute
dissolution simpler and quicker. It enables speedier resolution of disputes
and reduces pressure on consumer courts that already have numerous cases
pending before them.
 8. E-Filing of Complaints:

It is one of the most valuable benefits of Consumer Protection Act 2019. It

offers wide flexibility to the consumers. They can file complaints with the
nearby jurisdictional consumer forum, be it close to residence or place of
work. It is unlike the previous practice, where the filing was made from the
place of purchase or where the seller has its registered office address. The
complaints can also be lodged electronically. In fact, videoconferencing
can be done for hearing or examining parties. It aims to offer procedural
ease and reduce inconvenience and harassment for the consumers.

With the new act based on the foundation of fair trade practices, the consumers
are no more asked to beware. Today, a consumer is treated like a King. Hence, it
becomes important for the owners of consumer driven businesses, like e-
commerce or retail to be mindful of the changes in the legal landscape and have
robust policies that deal with consumer redressal in place. Consumer driven
businesses need to be cautious before opting for unfair trade practices.