New Delhi : The Lok Sabha on Tuesday passed the Consumer Protection Bill 2019 afterdue consideration and discussion.The Union Minister for Consumer Affairs, Food and Public Distribution Shri Ram Vilas Paswan said that the bill aims at protecting the interests of consumers by establishing authorities for timely and effective administration and settlement of consumers’ dispute. Moving the Bill, Minister of State for Consumer Affairs, Food and Public Distribution, Shri Raosaheb Patil Danve said the Bill aims to simplify a number of rules. Shri Danve said consumers do not get quick redressal of their complaints and with the passage of the Bill, consumers will be able to get speedy justice. He said the government aims to simplify the entire process of redressal of consumer grievances.
Under the Bill, there is provision for central government to set up a Central Consumer Protection Authority (CCPA) to promote, protect and enforce the rights of consumers and will be empowered to investigate, recall, refund and impose penalties. It will regulate matters related to violation of consumer rights, unfair trade practices, and misleading advertisements. There is also a provision for class action law suit for ensuring that rights of consumers are not infringed upon. The authority will have power to impose a penalty on a manufacturer or an endorser of up to 10 lakh rupees and imprisonment for up to two years for a false or misleading advertisement.
Salient features of the Bill include Central Consumer Protection Authority (CCPA) where the Executive Agency to provide relief to a class of consumers. The CCPA will be 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 and impose penalties on Manufactures /Endorsers /Publishers of Misleading Advertisements.
A manufacturer or product service provider or product seller to be responsible to compensate for injury or damage caused by defective product or deficiency in services. The Basis for product liability action will be manufacturing defect, design defect, deviation from manufacturing specifications, not conforming to express warranty, failing to contain adequate instruction for correct use and services provided are faulty, imperfect or deficient.
Presently Consumer only have a single point of access to justice, which is time consuming. Additional swift executive remedies are proposed in the bill through Central Consumer Protection Authority (CCPA) which includes deterrent punishment to check misleading advertisements and adulteration of products ,product liability provision to deter manufacturers and service providers from delivering defective products or deficient services, ease of approaching Consumer Commission and Simplification of Adjudication process and scope for early disposal of cases through mediation.
