ASSIGNMENT OF BUSINESS AND

ECONOMIC LAW

Submitted by: Nishant Ranjan

Course: B.COM(H)
Semester: 2(A)
Enrolment No. :-A50004619100
Submitted To: DR. SUGATO MUKHERJEE
Batch : 2019-2022

NATURE OF CONSUMER PROTECTION

The Consumer Protection Act, 1986 was enacted in the year
1986. It was bought in force to protect the rights of the
consumers from the wrongdoings and malpractices by the
businesses. It also provisioned the establishment of
authorities like consumer councils and others for the speedy
and correct resolution of the consumer disputes and
grievances. The Act was celebrated by the general public as it
gives voice to the consumer against the wealthy and
powerful businesses and also protects their rights.

Meaning of Consumer Protection

The Act clearly defines the term, Consumer Protection.
According to the Act, a consumer in India is any person who
1. Buys any goods;
2. Hires any services;
3. Uses goods with the approval of the buyers;
4. Hires services with the service providers approval;
5. Uses the goods to earn livelihood or self-employment;
6. Uses the services to earn livelihood or self-employment.

The salient features of the Consumer Protection Act,

1986 -
The Consumer Protection Act, 1986 has many features. We
have listed down the salient features of this Act hereby:-
1. The Act extends to all the areas of the economy i.e. public,
private and cooperative sector.
2. One of the most important features of this Act is the
provision for compensation and the extra help it provides to
the customers.
3. The Act also provides several rights to its consumers which
are, right to safety, information, choice, representation,
redressal, and education.
4. The Act also safeguards the consumers against the risk of
faulty or defective goods and any risk it may cause to the
consumer.
5. The three-tier redressal system is also one of the most
important aspects of this Act.
6. The complaints are to be addressed and resolved within
the stipulated time limit and hence all the cases are time
bound.
7. The Act also has the provision to establish consumer
protection councils to make the consumer aware of their
rights.

Redressal Three Tier System

To ensure the rightful and speedy resolution of all the
consumer complaints, the Consumer Protection Act, 1986
has a three-tier redressal system on which it operates. The
three layers of the redressal system are:-
1.The District Forum at District Level- The jurisdiction of this
forum extends to the matters of value equal to or less than
INR 20 Lacs.
2.State Commission at the State level- The jurisdiction of this
forum extends to the matters of values equal to or less than
INR One crore.
3.National Commission at National level- The jurisdiction of
this forum extend to the matters of values more than Rs. 1
crore.
Each of these forums has to provide the resolution within
thirty days failing to which the consumer can escalate the
complaint to the next commission.

Rights of a consumer
The Consumer Protection Act, 1986 bestows some rights to
the consumers. The rights can be explained as follows:-
1. Right to education- To be educated about the goods and
services.
2. Right to safety- Right to complete safety while using
products or services.
3. Right to redressal- Right to file a complaint and getting it
resolved.
4. Right to choose- Right of choosing the product or service.
5. Right of representation.