Consumer under Consumer Protection Act 2019 & 1986

The Consumer Protection Act of 1986 and even the new Act of 2019 have been enacted to provide consumers with simple and quick redress of their grievances for any lack of service or defect in goods. It protects various consumer rights against the seller or service provider. In case merchants and manufacturers practice any illegal exchange, this demonstration secures their privileges as buyers. The essential inspiration of this meeting is to offer a guide to both meetings and to liquidate long claims. This law covers a plethora of goods and services, whether they come from the public, private, or cooperative sectors. However, the Union Government has made certain exceptions in this regard.

The Protection Act covers all goods and services of all public, private, or cooperative sectors, except those exempted by the central government.

Who is a consumer?

The intention and object of the Consumer Protection Act are to ensure speedy redress and better protection of consumer interests. Simply put, a consumer is a person who buys any goods or uses any service for immediate or deferred payment. However, such goods or services should not be used for commercial purposes.

Section 2(1) (d) of the Consumer Protection Act of 1986 provides:

“Consumer” means any person who Purchases any goods for consideration that have been paid for or promised, or partly paid and partly promised under any deferred payment scheme, and includes all users of such goods if such use is made with the consent of such person, but does not include a person acquiring such goods for resale or any commercial purpose.

Rights of the consumer

• The right to security: This right refers to the right to be protected from the marketing of goods and services that are dangerous to the life and property of consumers. This right has an extremely wide scope of use; for example, it is accessible in the fields of electrical machinery, medical care, vehicles, medicine, accommodation, travel, and the like.
• Right to information: It alludes to one party, the purchaser, being instructed as to the quality, quantity, strength, purity, standard, and price of the work and products sold by the retailer.
• Right to choose: It is defined in law as the right to secure access to a variety of goods and services at competitive prices, whenever possible. It is not entirely unexpected to find the same item being sold at different prices by different merchants.
• Right to be heard: It is referred to as the right to be heard and to be assured that consumers’ interests will receive due consideration at appropriate forums. This right was presented for a buyer to guarantee that every one of the grumblings and issues of the buyers is heard properly under suitable power.
• The right to request rectification: If any consumer has been exploited by the seller or faced any unfair business practices, they can seek redress, i.e., payment or damages, under this right. This right ensures that every customer’s problem is managed and treated with justice.
• Right to consumer education: It is the right of every person who is a resident of India to know about all the laws and regulations that identify the buyer. In this way, it is ensured that materials related to laws related to shopping are effectively available all over India, but still, there is a significant section of the population that is not aware of its laws and rights.

Jurisdiction of the consumer forums under the act of 1986

Jurisdiction of district forum:

• Subject to other provisions of this Act, the District Forum shall have jurisdiction to entertain complaints where the value of the goods or services and the compensation, if any, claimed does not exceed twenty thousand rupees.
• The complaint will be filed in the district forum within the local limits having jurisdiction over:
  • The opposing party or each of the opposing parties, if there is more than one, at the time of filing the complaint actually and voluntarily resides, carries on business, has a branch, or personally works for profit;
  • Any of the adverse parties, if more than one, at the time of the complaint actually and voluntarily resides, carries on business, has a branch office, or is personally employed for profit, provided that in such case either the permit of the district. The Forum or opposing parties who do not live in such an institution, do not do business, do not have a branch office, or work personally for profit agree

Jurisdiction of the state commission

• • The State Commission has appellate powers. Appeals from district forums lie with the state commission. Parties who are aggrieved by the decisions of the State Commission may appeal to the National Commission.
  • It is a quasi-judicial body consisting of judicial and non-official members. District Consumer Forums are bound by the findings, decisions, or orders of the National Commission. They have the power of precedent.
  • The State Commission has the same working hours and days as the Ministry of State Administration and the court.

Consumer Protection Act, 2019

The 2019 Act was notified on July 15, 2020, and came into force on July 20, 2020, and established shoppers’ assemblies, etc., to deal with customer complaints and related matters.

This law was fundamentally passed to determine the huge dependence of customer complaints on consumer forums and courts across the country. The Act characterized the mandate of the Consumer Disputes Resolution Commission (CDRC).

Under the new law, the National CDRC can hear protests worth more than Rs. 10 crore and State CDRC has been given power worth more than Rs 1 crore but not as much as Rs 10 crore. This allowed the district CDRC to engage in grievances where the value of the goods or administration is up to Rs 1 crore.

New Features of the consumer protection act, 2019

• Commencement of e-filing: The law provides measures to allow buyers to document complaints electronically or through interaction with an electronic record. Procedures and evidence should be possible through video conferencing, which would simplify procedures and reduce problems for customers. Furthermore, the customer can also document the objection from any place where he lives, not just the regional location.
• Covering Unfair Trade Practices: The 2019 Act introduces the definition of unfair trade practices and offers consumers security for the data they share with confidence. Any disclosure must be made by the provisions of another law.
• The appeal procedure changed: The opposing party now has to deposit half of the amount required by the District Commission before documenting an appeal to the State Consumer Disputes Redressal Commission, rather than the previous most extreme measure of Rs. 25,000, as the old roof was redone.
• Inclusion of e-commerce transactions: Under the 2019 Act, e-commerce transactions are included for assessment under direct sales.
• Mediation as an alternative dispute resolution method: Under the 2019 Act, mediation has been introduced as an alternative dispute resolution method.
• Enhanced Penalties: Under the new law, the CCPA imposes a penalty of up to Rs. 1,000,000 on the creator or promoter of a false or charming advertisement, as well as imprisonment for up to 2 years. A habitual offender may be fined Rs. 5,000,000 and face imprisonment for up to five (five) years.
• Consumer redefining rights: The new law of 2019 reworked consumer rights into consumer rights under Section 2(7). It also distinguished between a consumer of goods and a consumer of services. It also introduced some rights compared to the old 1986 law.

Consumer Protection Act 1986 v/s Consumer Protection Act 2019

Conclusion

The Consumer Protection Act has been of some assistance to customers, shielding them from abuses perpetrated by large corporations and well-known brokers. For now, merchants and organizations are struggling to get huge benefits, and one way is by exploiting the buyer. In comparison, the legislature and the judiciary make changes to the demonstration on occasion, but the customer should be cautious and observant of individuals on the lookout.

The consumer law is a welcome step as it appears to cover the loopholes of the old law and is being introduced at a crucial stage when buyers and their privileges should be secured as global business sectors become increasingly customer-centric. The Act puts more power on the District Commission and State Commission while additionally updating their separate financial localities, thereby reducing the responsibility of the National Commission.