Consumer-Protection-Act-2019

Comparative Study of CP,Act 1986 & 2019

CPA,1986 CPA,2019
 The aim and objective along with the purpose for which
the act was established, is explained under Section 6, 8 and 8B
of the Consumer Protection Act, 1986. Section 6 goes on to
detail the rights which the act aims to protect and lists them as:
• Right to safety of life and property from hazardous goods.
• Right to information about the quality, quantity, potency, purity,
standard and price of goods and services so as to protect
consumers against unfair trade practices.
• Right to choice as to variety of goods and services.
• Right to be heard and representation and to be assured that
consumer interests will receive due consideration at
appropriated platform.
• Right to seek redressal against unfair trade practices or
restrictive trade practices or unscrupulous exploitation of
consumers.
• Right to consumer education
 The Consumer Protection Act 2019 is more holistic and
stringent after rules are framed to protect the interest of the
consumers
• The Act proposes the establishment of a Central Consumer
Protection Authority (CCPA) to promote, protect and enforce
the rights of consumers, and make interventions in situations of
unfair trade practices.
• The Act provides for a simplified dispute resolution mechanism,
with a provision for mediation and e-filing of cases. The
consumers can file complaints at a district or state consumer
commission closest to their residence, rather than the location
where the service or products were sold. Consumers can drag
manufacturers and sellers of adulterated and spurious products
to court and claim compensation, as is applicable.
 Under the aegis of the new Consumer Protection
Act, 2019, a product manufacturer and seller will
be liable to provide compensation for injury or damage
caused by a defective product or service. The errant
businesses will be penalized with up to 6 months in jail
or a fine of up to Rs 1 lakh if the consumers do not
suffer any injuries. In cases where the consumer is
injured, the fine to the manufacturer, seller or
distributor could go up to Rs 5 lakh and up to seven
years in jail. In case of death of the consumer, the
culprit will have to pay a minimum fine of Rs 10 lakh
and spend seven years in jail, which can be extended to
life imprisonment.
• Unit-I
• Brief History of Consumer Movements in
India
• Aims and Objectives of Consumer Protection
Act - Rights of Consumers under Consumer
Protection Act
• Definitions- Complainant, Complaint,
Consumer, Defects, Deficiency, Service, Goods
Hazardous to Life & Safety, Unfair Trade
Practices, Restrictive Trade Practices
• The new Consumer Protection Act, 2019 came into
force on 20th July 2020 and it will empower
consumers and help them in protecting their rights
through its various notified rules and provisions.
• The new act will be swift and less time consuming
compared to the older Consumer Protection Act,
1986 in which single-point access to justice was
given making it a time-consuming exercise.

– The old act provided for a three-tier consumer dispute

redressal machinery at the National (National Consumer
Disputes Redressal Commission),
State and District levels.
• Key Points
• The Consumer Protection Act, 2019 establishes
the Central Consumer Protection Authority (CCPA)
whose primary objective will be to promote, protect
and enforce the rights of consumers.

– It is empowered to:

• Conduct investigations into violations of consumer rights and

institute complaints/prosecution.
• Order recall of unsafe goods and services.
• Order discontinuance of unfair trade practices and misleading
advertisements.
• Impose penalties on manufacturers/endorsers/publishers of
misleading advertisements.
• Rules on E-commerce and Unfair Trade Practices: The
government will notify the Consumer Protection (E-commerce)
Rules, 2020 under the Act whose broad provisions are given
below.

• E-commerce entities are required to provide information to

consumers, relating to return, refund, exchange, warranty and
guarantee, delivery and shipment, modes of payment, grievance
redressal mechanism, payment methods, security of payment
methods, charge-back options and country of origin.

– These are necessary for enabling the consumer to make an informed

decision at the pre-purchase stage.
• These platforms will have to acknowledge the receipt of any
consumer complaint within 48 hours and redress the complaint
within one month from the date of receipt. They will also have
to appoint a grievance officer for consumer grievance redressal.
• The Consumer Protection (E-commerce) Rules,
2020 are mandatory and are not advisories.
• Sellers cannot refuse to take back goods or
withdraw services or refuse refunds, if such
goods or services are defective, deficient,
delivered late, or if they do not meet the
description on the platform.
• The rules also prohibit the e-commerce
companies from manipulating the price of the
goods or services to gain unreasonable profit
through unjustified prices.
• Product Liability:

– A manufacturer or product service provider or product seller

will be held responsible to compensate for injury or
damage caused by defective product or deficiency in services

– Basis for product liability action:

• Manufacturing defect.
• Design defect.
• Deviation from manufacturing specifications.
• Not conforming to express warranty.
• Failing to contain adequate instructions for correct use.
• Service provided-faulty, imperfect or deficient.
• Punishment for Manufacture or Sale of
Adulterated/Spurious Goods:

– In case of the first conviction, a competent court

may suspend any licence issued to the person for
a period of up to two years and in case of second
or subsequent conviction, may cancel the licence
permanently.
• Alternate Dispute Resolution Mechanism of
Mediation:

– A complaint will be referred by a Consumer Commission

for mediation, wherever scope for early settlement
exists and parties agree for it.
– The mediation will be held in the Mediation Cells which
will be established under the aegis of the Consumer
Commissions.
– There will be no appeal against settlement through
mediation.
• Simplification of the Consumer Dispute
Adjudication Process:

– Empowering the State and District Commissions

to review their own orders.
– Enabling a consumer to file complaints
electronically and in consumer commissions that
have jurisdiction over the place of his residence.
– Video-conferencing for hearing and deemed
admissibility of complaints if the question of
admissibility is not decided within the specified
period of 21 days.
• Other Rules and Regulations:

– As per the Consumer Disputes Redressal Commission Rules, there will

be no fee for filing cases up to Rs. 5 lakh.
– The credit of the amount due to unidentifiable consumers will go to
the Consumer Welfare Fund (CWF).
– State Commissions will furnish information to the Central Government
on a quarterly basis on vacancies, disposal, the pendency of cases and
other matters.
– Apart from these general rules, there are Central Consumer Protection
Council Rules, provided for the constitution of the Central Consumer
Protection Council (CCPC).

• It will be an advisory body on consumer issues, headed by the Union Minister

of Consumer Affairs, Food and Public Distribution with the Minister of State as
Vice Chairperson and 34 other members from different fields.
• It will have a three-year tenure and will have Minister-in-charge of consumer
affairs from two States from each region- North, South, East, West, and North-
East Region.
 Consumer-Protection-Act-2019
Its-Preamble

An Act to provide for

protection of the interests of consumers
and for the said purpose,
to establish authorities for timely and effective
administration and
settlement of consumers' disputes
and
for matters connected therewith or incidental-thereto.
Thank You