The Parliament gave its nod to the landmark Consumer Protection Bill, 2019 which aims to protect the rights of consumers by establishing authorities for timely and effective administration and settlement of consumers’ dispute. The Bill was passed by the Lok Sabha on 30th July, 2019 and was passed by Rajya Sabha today. The Bill will replace the Consumer Protection Act, 1986.
Moving the bill for consideration and passing in Rajya Sabha, Union Minister of Consumer Affairs, Food and Public Distribution Shri Ramvilas Paswan said that the new legislation would ease the overall process of consumer grievance redressal. Shri Paswan said that this new bill will provide a better mechanism to dispose consumer complaints in a speedy manner and will help in disposal of large number of pending cases in consumer courts across the nation. Shri Paswan stated that this bill was a long pending legislation and all the recommendations of the Parliamentary Standing Committee were incorporated in the bill except for five recommendations.
The bill, among other things, proposes setting up of a Central Consumer Protection Authority (CCPA) to promote, protect and enforce the rights of consumers as a class. The CCPA would make interventions to prevent consumer detriment arising from unfair trade practices. The agency can also initiate class action, including enforcing recall, refund and return of products.
The Bill also envisages simplified dispute resolution process, has provision for Mediation and e-filing of cases. The Consumer will be able to file cases in the nearest commission under the jurisdiction of which he resides.
For the first time there will be an exclusive law dealing with Product Liability. A manufacturer or product service provider or product seller will now be responsible to compensate for injury or damage caused by defective product or deficiency in services.
