The consumer is any person who is consuming goods and services. If any person who is purchasing the goods and services or resaling it for the cimmercial purpose would be considered as a consumer, he or she will be called as wholesaler or normally seller. The Consumer Protection Act,2019 also includes online buyers as well as teleshopping and multilevel marketing. The Consumer Protection,2019 comes into force on 20th July with its salient features including the establishment of the Central Consumer Protection Authority (CCPA) to promote, protect and enforce the rights of consumers. While briefing the media about the Consumer Protection Act,2019 through video conference, the Union Minister of Consumer affairs, food & Public Distribution Ram Vilas Paswan said that this new Act will empower consumers and help them in protecting their rights through its various notified rules and provisions like Consumer Protection Councils, Consumer Dispute Commissions, Mediation, Product Liability and Punishment for manufacture of sale of products containing adulterant/ spurious goods. Ram Vilas Paswas said that CCPA will be empowered to conduct investigations into violations of consumers rights and institutes complaints/ Prosecution, order recall of unsafe goods and services, order discontinuance of unfair trade practices and misleading advertisements, impose penalties on manufactrures/enorsers/publishers of misleading advertisements.
Paswan further said under this Act that every e-commerce entity is required to provide information relating to return, refund, exchange, warranty and guarantee, delivery and shipment, modes of payments, greivance Redressal Mechanism, payment methods, security of payment methods, charge- back options, etc. Further the Minister said an Alternate Dispute Resolution Mechanism of mediation has been provided in the new Act. This will simplify the adjudication process from the complex one. He said, as per the Consumer Dispute Redressal COmmission Rules, there will be no fee for filling cases upto Rs. 5 Lakh. The State Commissions will furnish information to Central Government on a quarterly basis on the vacancies, disposal, pendency of cases, and more other matters.
BY-
SURBHI GOYAL AT LEXCLIQ
