RUSTOMJIE INTERNATIONAL

Name :- Himanshu Ravindra Patil

Std. :- 10th
Class :- Maple
Roll no. :- 76
Topic :- Consumer Awareness
 What is a Consumer?
A consumer is the buyer of goods and services. The user of goods and
services with the permission of the buyer is also known as a consumer.
Goods may be consumables like wheat flour, salt, sugar, fruit etc. or
durable items like television, refrigerator, toaster, mixer, bicycle etc.
Services refer to items like electricity, cooking gas, telephone,
transportation, film show etc.
In the eyes of law, both the person who buys any goods or hires any
service for consideration (price) and the one who uses such goods and
services with the approval of the buyer are termed as consumers.
However, a person who buys goods for resale (like wholesaler, retailer, etc.)
or for any commercial purpose is not treated as consumer.
Under the Consumer Protection Act 1986, the word Consumer has been
defined separately for the purpose of goods and services.
(a) For the purpose of goods, a consumer means (i) one who buys any
goods for consideration; and (ii) any user of such goods other than the
person who actually buys it, provided such use is made with the approval
of the buyer. (The expression ‘consumer’ does not include a person who
obtains such goods for resale or for any commercial purpose.) (b) For the
purpose of services, a consumer means (i) one who hires any service or
services for consideration; and (ii) any beneficiary of such service(s)
provided the service is availed with the approval of such person.
Consumer protection means safeguarding the interest and rights of consumers. It
refers to the measures adopted for the protection of consumers from unscrupulous
and unethical malpractices by the business and to provide them speedy redressal of
their grievances.
Need for Consumer Protection
(a) Social Responsibility (b) Increasing Awareness
(c) Consumer Satisfaction (d) Principle of Social
(e) Principle of Trusteeship (f) Survival and Growth of Business
The most common business malpractices leading to consumer exploitation are given
below:
(b) Sale of adulterated goods i.e., adding something inferior to the product being
sold.
(b) Sale of spurious goods i.e., selling something of little value instead of the real
product.
(c) Sale of sub-standard goods i.e., sale of goods which do not confirm to prescribed
quality standards.
(d) Sale of duplicate goods.
(e) Use of false weights and measures leading to underweight.
(f) Hoarding and black-marketing leading to scarcity and rise in price.
(g) Charging more than the Maximum Retail Price (MRP) fixed for the product.
(h) Supply of defective goods.
(i) Misleading advertisements i.e., advertisements falsely claiming a product or
service to be of superior quality, grade or standard.
(j) Supply of inferior services i.e., quality of service lower than the quality agreed
upon.
Consumer Protection Act 1986
The Consumer Protection Act was passed in 1986 and it came into force from
1 July 1987. The main objectives of the Act are to provide better and all-
round protection to consumers and effective safeguards against different
types of exploitation such as defective goods, deficient services and unfair
trade practices. It also makes provisions for a simple, speedy and inexpensive
machinery for redressal of consumers‟ grievances. Salient Features of
Consumer Protection Act 1986 The salient features of Consumer Protection
Act (CPA) 1986 are as follows:
(a) It applies to all goods, services and unfair trade practices unless
specifically exempted by the Central Government.
(b) It covers all sectors whether private, public or co-operative.
(c) It provides for establishment of consumer protection councils at the
central, state and district levels to promote and protect the rights of
consumers and a three tier quasi judicial machinery to deal with consumer
grievances and disputes.
(d) It provides a statutory recognition to the six rights of consumers.
 Machinery for Settlement of grievances
1. District Forum
The district forums consist of a Chairman and two other members one of whom shall be a
woman. The district forums are headed by the person of the rank of a District Judge. A
written complaint can be filed before the District Consumer forum where the value of
goods or services and the compensation claimed does not exceed Rs. 20 lakh. If a consumer
is not satisfied by the decision of the District forum, he can challenge the same before the
State Commission, within 30 days of the order.
2. State Commission
The State Commission consists of a President and not less then two and not more than
such number of members as may be prescribed, one of whom shall be a women. The
Commission is headed by a person of the level of High Court judge. A written complaint
can be filed before the State Commission where the value of goods or services and the
compensation claimed exceeds Rs. 20 lakh but does not exceed Rs. One crore. In case the
aggrieved party is not satisfied with the order of the State Commission he can appeal to the
National Commission within 30 days of passing of the order.
3.National Commission
It consists of a President and not less than four and not more than such members as may
be prescribed, one of whom shall be a woman. The National Commission is headed by a
sitting or retired judge of the Supreme Court. All complaints pertaining to those goods or
services and compensation whose value is more than Rs. one crore can be filed directly
before the National Commission. An appeal can be filed against the order of the National
Commission to the Supreme Court within 30 days from the date of order passed.
 Rights of Consumers
(a) Right to Safety
It is the right of the consumers to be protected against goods
and services which are hazardous to health or life. Right to
safety is an important right available to the consumer which
ensures that the manufacturers shall not produce and sell
sub-standard and dangerous products.

(b) Right to be Informed

The right to be informed is an important component of
consumer protection. The consumer must be provided with
adequate and accurate information about quality, quantity,
purity, standard and the price of the goods and services.
Information helps the consumers in their buying decision and
use of the product.

(c) Right to Choose

The right to choose provides that the consumer must be
assured, whenever possible, access to a variety of goods and
services at competitive prices. If the market has enough
varieties of products at highly competitive prices, the buyers
have an opportunity of wide selection.
(d) Right to be Heard
This right means that consumers have a right to be consulted by
Government and public bodies when decisions and policies are made
affecting consumer interests. Also, consumers have a right to be heard by
manufactures, dealers and advertisers about their opinion on production,
marketing decisions and any grievances of the consumers. Consumers
have the right to be heard in legal proceedings in law courts dealing with
consumer complaints.

(e) Right to Seek Redressal

The consumers have been given the right of redressal of their grievances
relating to the performance, grade, quality etc. of the goods and services if
required, the product must be repaired / replaced by the seller/
manufacturer. The Consumer Protection Act has duly provides for a fair
settlement of genuine grievances of the consumers.

(f) Right to Consumer Education

It means the right to receive knowledge and skill to become informed
consumer. In this direction the consumer associations, educational
institutions and the policy makers can play an important part.
Responsibilities of Consumers
(a) Be quality conscious
(b) Beware of misleading advertisements
(c) Responsibility to inspect a variety of goods before making
selection
(d) Collect proof of transaction
(e) Consumers must be aware of their rights
(f) Complaint for genuine grievances
(g) Proper use of product/services
(h) Buying Quality Certified Products
(i) Demanding Bill of the Purchase
(j) Being a Green Consumer
(k) Buy only standardised goods like ISI, FPO, FSSAI and
Hallmarked goods
(l) Check the information about prices, net weight, manufacturing
and expiry dates, etc.
(m) File a complaint in an appropriate consumer forum in case of a
shortcoming in the quality of goods purchased or services availed.
(n) Avoid waste, littering and contributing to pollution.
 Quality Standard Mark
Government of India has created some standards for almost every
product to protect the economic interests of all citizens. These
standards are like "AGMARK" for agricultural products, ISI mark
for electric products, BIS mark for gold ornaments and “FPO
mark" for all the "processed fruit products".
1.BIS Hallmark
It is issued by Bureau of Indian Standards to check the purity of
gold and silver. It is applicable for gold since April, 2000 and for
silver since 2005.
To judge the purity of the gold ornaments, these numbers are
written on the jewellery;
I. For 23 carat gold, you can find 958 number stamped on jewellery.
II. For 22 carats 916  
III. For 21 carats 875
IV. For 18 carats 750
V.  For 17 carats 708
VI. For 14 carats 585
VII. For 9 carats  375
2. AGMARK
It is issued by Directorate of Marketing and Inspection of the
Government of India for the inspection of Agricultural
Products. AGMARK is a certification mark employed on
agricultural products in India, assuring that they conform to a
set of standards.

3. ISI Mark
The Bureau of Indian Standards (BIS) operated and one of the
most recognised standardization marks in India, ISI mark is
employed on products that meet the set Indian Standards for
products and are deemed safe for consumer use.
ISI stands for Indian Standards Institute—the former name of
BIS.

4.FPO
The FPO mark guarantees that the product was manufactured
in a
hygienic ‘food-safe’ environment, thus ensuring that the
product is fit for consumption. This is a mandatory mark that
one will find on all
processed fruit products sold in India such as packaged fruit
beverages, fruit-jams, crushes and squashes, pickles,
dehydrated fruit products, and fruit extracts following the
Food Safety and Standards Act of 2006.
5. Eco mark
This marking scheme was introduced in the year
1991. It is given to those products that conform to a
set of standards aimed at the least impact on the
ecosystem. While this is not a mandatory quality
mark, it serves as an advisory to consumers.
Products that fall under this are soaps and
detergents, batteries, leather, drugs, wood substitutes
etc.
6.Vegetarian and Non-Vegetarian Marks
Every package of ‘non-vegetarian’ food shall carry a
symbol of a brown colour-filled circle inside a square
with brown outline, having sides double the diameter
of the circle. Every package of vegetarian food shall
bear a symbol which consists of a green colour-filled
circle, having a diameter not less than the minimum
size specified, inside the square with green outline
having size double the diameter of the circle.
7. FSSAI
This is a voluntary certification for food products
manufacturers and outlets like restaurants and home-
delivered food producers (like pizza joints). The
standard comes with a 14-digit unique license number
specific to the food producer. The certification means
that the food is hygienic and meets the norms set under
the Food Safety Standards (FSS) Act, 2006.
 Bibliography
https://www.oswaalbooks.com/download/freere
sources/class10/177Oswaal%20CBSE%20Proje
ct%20Report%20Social%20Science%20Class%
2010.pdf
 

https://iamcheated.indianmoney.com/blogs/7-ce
rtification-marks-issued-for-different-products-i
n-india
Thank You