An examination, review and analysis of Consumer protection

and the Consumer Protection Act 1986 in India.

Author 1
Prof. (Dr.) Hare Krishan Singh
Head and Director.
University Department of Commerce & Business Administration
Lalit Narayan Mithila University, Kameshwar Nagar, Darbhanga.
Email :-harekrishansingh294@gmail.com
Cont :- 9431086190

Author 2
Sidharth Shankar Raju
PhD Research Scholar
Department of Management
Kalinga University.
Email :-fandb.sidharth@gmail.com
Cont :- 8057679662
 An examination,review and analysis of Consumer protection and the Consumer
ProtectionAct 1986 in India.

ABSTRACT

A person who buys and consumesa good or a service from a sellerfor the money is called consumer.
Consumer Protection is a socio-economic day to day activity that is to be carried out by government
and business with a prime objective of protecting interests of consumers and their fair satisfaction.
Consumer protection covers poor quality of products, unfair market practices, misinformation,
consumer grievances resulting from mergers and acquisitions of companies, product safety, product
labeling, and price. Consumer protection has been a part of the responsibilities of the rulers in India
even before 1947 it was also implemented in other ways. An important legislation in this field was
the Trade Practices Act, 1974 which came into existence on 1 October 1974. But a formal consumer
protection law, which purely focuses on consumer protection, was only enacted in the year 1986 in
India.The consumer movement became important in the early and middle of the twentieth century
and it resulted in formulation of robust consumer protection Acts in many countries.United nation
Organization guidelines were the basis for formulation of consumer protection policies and measures
in many developing countries including India. Consumer Protection Act 1986 (CPA 1986), that was
passed in Parliament in 1986, was much more detailed, comprehensive and effective in comparison
to other consumer protection Acts in various countries. This paper is an attempt to examine, analyze
and review consumer protection in India and its Act of 1986, starting from its formulation
implementation and journey.
KEYWORDS :Consumer Protection, Consumer Rights, Consumer Protection Act 1986, UNO
guidelines, Consumer Movement, CPA Journey.

INTRODUCTION

The concept of consumer protection is a thought as old as human civilization. Protecting the buyers’
interests is amongst the prime considerations of the business. According to Mahatma Gandhi consumer
is giving an opportunity for the businesspersons to serve him and he is the ultimate purpose of the
business and we can even go to the extent of saying that according to certain interpretations of some
Indian traditions a customer/consumer is equivalent to God. But the profit motive of the marketers,
sellers and dealers is resulting in consumer exploitation through deceitful and immoral market
practices (Singh and Grewal 2013).

Consumer Protection is a socio-economic day to day activity that is to be carried out by government
and business with a prime objective of protecting interests of consumers and their fair satisfaction. It
is the prime responsibility of the government to protect the rights and interest of consumers through
formulating suitable policies, laws and administrative framework. Different acts and laws were
incorporated to protect the consumers. But Consumer Protection Act 1986 (CPA 1986) is considered
as a milestone in the history of India for consumers right. This paper examine the background and
evalution of Consumer Protection act over a period of time. This study is based on secondary data.
This paper analyses the background of CPA 1986, its implementation, post implementation, changes
and journey.

Definitions
Consumer
A person who purchases goods and services.

Consumer Rights
Consumer rights are generally a refer laws that give powers to consumers against exploitations and
misconduct, misinformation &misguide by producers and sellers and force them of goods to protect
interests of consumers. These laws have come into existence through a series of legal disputes in
India , and have been shaped by the result of those cases.

Consumer Protection

The Consumer Protection Act, 1986 is that the most vital legislative enacted to supply for effective
safeguards to customers against varied kinds of exploitations and unfair dealings by seller.

Its theme

JOURNEY OF CONSUMER PROTECTION 1986 TO 2019.

Consumer protection in India has been a part of its culture and civilization. The Consumer protection
in India can be studied with reference to the four main historical periods viz. Ancient, Medieval, during
the British time and Post-Independence.

 Consumer Protection in Ancient India

The concept of consumer protection against unscrupulous, unfair and unethical malfunction practices
and safeguarding the interest of consumers was a part of Indian culture, business and administration
for centuries in the ancient times. References to it can be seen in Ancient Indian Dharmas like Manu
Smriti (800 BC- 600 BC), TheYajnavalkyaSmriti (300 B.C. - 100 B.C), The NaradaSmriti (100 A.D.-
200 A.D.), The Brihaspatismriti (200A.D.- 400 A.D.) In the KatyayanaSmriti (300 A.D.- 600 A.D)
were explained the living conditions of the people of that time and were basis on the Dharma to be
followed at that time. They were even the premise for the system that is being followed currently. In
India, Manu Smriti was one of the most influential texts that dealt with various consumer matters.
Arthashastra of Kautilya is considered as one of the oldest and a very effective book on trade and
commerce in ancient India. Kautilya( Chanakya ) has mentioned different punishments to be given to
sellers who involve themselves in different kinds of exploitations, and wrong measures. The
consumer protection was a common part of the ancient laws. (Shamasastri, 1951)

 Medieval period and Pre-independence

During the medieval period Muslim kings who ruled India, like AlauddinKhilji, Sher Shah Suri, and
Akbar etc., thought about protecting the shoppers and consumers and they enacted strict laws for the
same. They introduced weights, measures standardization process.

 The modern and British times

British rulers combined the previous customs and culture (dharma) with a unified nationwide system
that had similarities with the laws already enacted in Britain. (Prasad, 2008).

They introduced Acts like:

• The Indian Penal Code, 1860
• Carriers Act, 1865 Law of Tort
• The Indian Contract Act, 1872
• Sale of Goods act 1930
• The Agricultural Product (Grading & Marking) Act, 1937
• The Drugs and Cosmetics Act, 1940

 Post Independence
After independence, many laws were enacted in India for safeguarding innocent customers from
unfair and restrictive trade practices sort of a false and dishonorable description regarding the
character and quality of the goods exaggerated statements concerning their power and efficiency, false
weights and measurements and obstruction of capital and resources into the stream of production. The
Acts that were enacted and covered the whole of the Republic of India are given below-
• The Drugs Control act, 1950
• The Industries (Development and Regulations) Act, 1951
• The Drugs and Magic Remedies (Objectionable Advertisements) Act, 1954
• The Prevention of Food Adulteration Act, 1954
• The Essential Commodities Act, 1955
• The Trade and Merchandise Marks Act, 1958
• The Monopolies and Restrictive Trade Practices Act, 1969, Compition Act 2002
• The Cigarettes (Regulation of Production, Distribution, and Supply) Act, 1975
• The Standards of Weights and Measures Act, 1976
• The Prevention of Black Marketing and Maintenance of Supplies of Essential
• Commodities Act, 1980
• The Standards of Weights and Measures (Enforcement) Act, 1985
• The Bureau of Indian Standards Act, 1986

But of these Acts weren't as effective, focused and did not cater to needs all sections of the
population. There was a need for a focused and strong law to ensure for better protection of the
interests of shoppers and consumers and to save them from the evils of unfair trade practices and for
this the Protection Act -1986 was enacted by Indian Government. The various amendments in this Act
unto 2019 give it more teeth and power to consumers but do not tamper with the basic spirit of the Act
of 1986.

Annexure I
THE CONSUMER PROTECTION BILL, 2015 and 2019
HIGHLIGHTS OF THE BILL.

 This Bill replaces the CPA, 1986. The Bill enforces consumer rights, and provides a system
for redressal of complaints regarding defect & fraud in goods and deficiency in services.
 Consumer Dispute Redressal Commissions will be set up at the district level, state level and
national level for adjudicating consumer complaints easily.
 This Bill maintain a Consumer Protection system to investigate consumer complaints, issue a
safety notices for goods, Products& services, and pass orders for recall of goods and against
misleading advertisements in society.
 If a consumer suffers an injury from a defect in a goods, they may file a claim of product
liability against the manufacturer. The consumer must establish 7 conditions in order to prove
such a claim.
 The Bill classifies six contract terms as ‘unfair’.
These cover terms such as
(i) Payment of excessive security deposits;
(ii) Disproportionate penalty for a breach ;
(iii) Unilateral termination without cause;
(iv) One which puts the consumer at a disadvantage.

KEY ISSUES AND ANALYSIS.

 The Bill empowers the central government to supervise the functioning of, and issue binding
directions to the district, state and national consumer redressal commissions. This could have
an effect on the independence of those quasi-judicial bodies.
 The District Commission, a quasi-judicial body, may be headed by a District Magistrate rank
officer, who is part of the executive. This could violate the principle of separation of powers
between the judiciary and government.
 The National Commission of consumer protection act headed by a judicial member and
comprising at least 15 technical or judicial members, who will examine complaints on
questions of law. This could contradict a Supreme Court judgment that questioned the ability
of such technical members.
 In order to claim products or goods liability, a claimant must establish four kinds of defects in
the product, the injury caused from it, and that it belonged to the manufacturer. The applicant
should additionally establish that the manufacturer had information of such a defect. It may be
argued that the conditions to ascertain a product liability claim area unit unreasonable.
 The Bill defines goods liability to include defects in goods and deficiency in services.
However, the conditions to be evidenced to say product liability don't embrace conditions for
services. It is unclear however a client will claim product liability for deficiency in services
below the Bill.

CONSUMER PROTECTION ACT IN INDIA

In India the movement was initiated as a ‘social force’ to safeguard and encourage the interests and
rights of the consumers. But the Consumer Protection Act in 1986 gave it a legal authority with the
declaration of six consumer rights that time . Separate government departments of consumer affairs for
consumer were set up and three tier system of consumer courts at national, state and district levels. The
movement has already progressed a lot in spreading consumer awareness but is still facing some of the
problems such as:

 The consumer redressal system is becoming difficult, expensive and time-consuming.

 Evidence is not easy to gather as cash memos are not issued for most of the purchases.

 The existing laws are not very clear about the issue of compensation to consumers injured by
defective products.

As codified under the Indian Laws the Consumers have the following Rights:

 Right to Safety—to protect against hazardous goods and products.

 Right to be Informed—about price, quality, purity, Quantity, etc.

 Right to choose—access to a variety of goods and services at competitive prices.

 Right to be Heard—consumers interest and welfare must be taken care of rights.

 Right to seek Redress—protection against unfair trade practices and settling genuine
grievances.

 Right to Consumer Education.—Knowledge about goods and issues related to consumers.

MAJOR PROVISION IN CONSUMER PROTECTION ACT

The first Bill to protect the consumers rights , passed after Independence India was Drug Control Act
1950. It was implemented by Industries & manufacturing sector (Development and Regulation)
act, 1951, The Indian Standards Institution (Certificate Marks) Act 1952 and Drugs and Magic
Remedies (Objectionable Advertisements) act 1954. Though these acts were intended to protect
consumers, these acts did not achieve the desired results and its was not too effective..

 Prevention of Food and Adulteration Act, 1954

It was the Prevention of Food and food products Adulteration act 1954, that was made every attempt
to protect the consumers. There were detailed provisions for analysis of food, Quality, Quantity,
giving warranty by manufacturers, distributors and dealers, the disclosure of names by the vendors,
food poisoning, the summary trial of cases, forfeiture of property, etc. The Act was enacted to
eradicate the anti-social people & food processor of food adulteration and ensure purity. The central
government of India and all state governments framed rules with regard to Central Food Laboratory,
Standard of quality, public analysts and inspectors, ceiling, fattening and dispatch of samples,
Manufacturing process, coloring matter, packing and labeling of foods, prohibition and regulating
sales, conditions for sale and license, preservative, poisonous metals, and solvent-extracted oils and
edible flour etc. After implementation of this Act, Essential Commodities Act was enabled to extend
to control the production, supply, and distribution of certain essential commodities.
 MRTP Act, 1969
Another important measure taken by Indian government to protect the consumers was Monopoly in
market and Restrictive Trade Practices Act (MRTP Act) 1969. It was passed by Parliament
( Lower& Upper House ) on the recommendations of Mahalanobis Committee Report, 1954, Justice
K C Gupta Commission Report, 1965. It came into enforcement on 1st June 1970. The Act was
enacted in order that there wouldn't be any concentration of economic power as a results of financial
system operations, and prohibition of Monopoly and restrictive trade practices. To accomplish the
aims and objectives, there were provisions for the establishment of MRTP commission to enquire
into monopolistic and restrictive trade practices and to grant a temporary injunction and
compensation. The Act was amended in 1982, 1984, 1985 and 1986. (Pathak A, 2007)
 Other Acts
The legal relationship and disabilities between the buyer ( Consumer) and seller were by and large
regulated by Law of Contract (1872) and Sale of Goods Act (1930). Consumers were unable to avail
these acts when they had some grievances related to product. Law of Torts and Provisions of IPC
1980 were also applied to protect consumers rights. After Independence, there were around 40
legislations were enacted or strengthen to protect the consumers interests, which included some of
the British laws. But because of inadequacy in their implementation and improper coverage of
consumer’s rights and redressal through the prevailing civil court system was cumbersome, lethargic
and defendant, none of them could able to protect the consumers against exploitation.
 CONSUMER PROTECTION IN THE WORLD

The trend of the globalization is market driven by new technologies and advances in product selling
and repair delivery and is that the continued retreat of Governments in several nations from ancient
sorts of regulation the market place. during this regard Foreign Direct Investment (FDI) is a crucial
tool within the Economic development of the state. Indian retail sector is one amongst the foremost
necessary sectors that carry nice potential for attracting FDI. Entry of worldwide retailers is anticipated
to own direct impact on consumer similarly as mortal. it's expected to bring down trade goods costs of
the mortal. Massive scale and high volume sourcing and technology fringe of international retailers
facilitate in realizing bigger operational potency and wide assortment of products at lower costs could
also be created obtainable to consumer. Food-safety hygiene and quality area unit price additions. Over
60 percent of the wastage are often prevented if specialized cold storage chains area unit designed
according to need. However, aggressive opposition parties from all states of India raised voice and
alleged that client shall profit because of selection quality and accessibility of wide merchandise.
However, it's feared that within the end of the day consumer might ought to face the chance of high
costs, substandard quality and restricted choices once these huge retailers quiet down well in Indian
market. however it's additionally true that FDI in retail trade also will facilitate in desegregation the
fashionable Indian retail market thereupon of worldwide retail market however at constant time legal
and administrative unit and robust mechanism is critical to confirm that huge retailers don't dislocate
little retailers by unfair suggests that. However, uniform restrictive structure has to be started with
reference to taxes and duties as regards trendy retail sector.

In 1962, former America President John F Kennedy declared four basic client rights –

 the proper to safety;

 the proper to be informed;
 the proper to decide on and also
 the right to be detected.

His declaration issued a license for the world’s client teams that have swollen since then to replicate
the necessity of consumer within the market. The rules were developed to:

 Assist countries to attain and maintain adequate protection for shoppers

 Encourage moral conduct within the market
 Encourage the event of market conditions which give shoppers with bigger alternative at lower
costs

After intensive international consultation, world organization General Assembly adopted few world
organization tips for consumer Protection in April 1985, and updated in 1999.

The eight rights listed below area unit the work of consumer teams and lots of government client
affairs agencies round the world.

 Right to satisfaction of Basic wants

 Right to Safety
  Right to be told
 Right to decide on
 Right to be detected
 Right to Redress
 Right to client Education
 Right to Healthy setting

It acted as a tool for the nations to support consumer protection. At the international level this has
become the muse for consumer movement. These days 245 organizations from over one hundred
twenty countries have come back up and united underneath one body named consumer International.

 United Nations Guide lines over consumer rights.

Formal consumer protection Acts were initial created within the western a part of the globe attributable
to the patron movement that flourished within the USA and Europe throughout early twentieth century.
Prince Philip Kotler (1972) known 3 phases of the patron movement within the USA.

 The first section was in early 1900’s wherever yank government passed bills like
 Pure Food and Drug Act (1906),
 The Meat examination Act (1906) and also
 The Creation of Federal Trade Commission (1914).

The second wave of consumerisation in mid-1930’s attributable to improvement in consumer costs in

thick of Depression, the sulfa Scandal, and Motor City House wives strike. and also the third is
attributable to factors like structural conduciveness, structural strains, growth of a generalized belief,
causative factors, mobilization for action and group action. (Rajanikanth, 2011). Ralph Nader gave
consumerism a boom in 1960’s. The international consumer movement reached its peak in most
countries in late 1960’s. In 1962 president John F. Kennedy declared the patron rights that symbolized
consumerism. client movement unfold to Japan, UK, Belgium, Denmark, France, European nation,
Norway, and Kingdom of Sweden (Rajanikanth, 2011). however the consumer in developing and
developed countries were victims of the economic process. In July 1981, the Secretary-General of UN
was requested to continue previous consultations on client protection by the Economic and Social
Council of UN (ECOSOC) with the aim to following, inter alia, the elaboration of general tips with a
special thought of wants of developing nations. In 1982, a group of draft tips was submitted to the
Governments of member countries for comment. A report with revised set of tips was submitted to
Economic and Social Council by the Secretary-General in might 1983. On ninth April 1985, General
Assembly of UN adopted these set of general tips for client protection neminecontradicente and
requested the Secretary-General to publicize them to the parties of interest (Harland, 1987). These tips
were primarily supposed for member countries, particularly for developing and freshly freelance
nations. per “Javier Pérez American state Cuéllar”, The UN Secretary General, these draft tips
represent initial arrange to produce associate degree international framework inside that national client
protection policies and measures may be found out (Harland, 1987).

THE FACTORS THAT CONTRIBUTED AND INFLUENCED THE CONSUMER

PROTECTION ACT

Though there were a series of legislative measures undertaken after Independence in India , the
consumers had not been protected to the extent desired. A Private Bill for consumer protection law
was introduced but failed in the Parliament house in the year 1977 (CUTS report, 2001). Lokpal and
Lokayukta were set up, after the suggestions of Administrative Reforms Commission headed by
Morarji Desai Former Prime Minister, to resolve the grievances of Indian citizens .The law
Commission of India, in its 105th Report on Quality Control and Inspection of Consumer goods,
October 1984 (Law Commission Report 1984), under the Chairmanship of KK Mathew, suggested
that we need to establish a much better system to safeguard the patron interests while not the patron
being driven to initiate pricey and presumably long drawn out judicial proceeding. During the same
period, Madhya Pradesh State Government had introduced “Madhya Pradesh Consumer Protection
Bill 1984” which was the outcome of an intensive and analytical study by Consumer Protection Sub-
Committee of Madhya Pradesh Law Commission. The Bill had a provision to establish State Institute
of Consumer Education Research and Training, State Fair Trade Practices Forum and Consumer
Prices Review Commission. It additionally projected a State action beneath Unified Comprehensive
shopper Code. The bill proposed legal protection to community activists and award punitive damages
to those who were the victims of unfair trade practices.

The bill was intended to make inroads to achieve social and economic goals where it could not act
directly (Nayak, 1985). The bill also proposed to establish councils at District, City and Village and
ward levels to collect information and a Consumer Ombudsman, who could recommend on policy and
research, and additionally to recommend on Laws and publications on Safety and Standards. The
Prime Minister’s 20-point formula was one of the significant aspects in Consumer Protection, which
was the brainchild of then Prime Minister Shri. Rajiv Gandhi. Initially, 20-point program was
structured by Mrs. Indira Gandhi in 1975, restructured in 1982. The same was upgraded by Shri Rajiv
Gandhi to enhance the productivity of Indian Economy and to accelerate the upliftment of weaker
sections. Consumer Protection was the eighteenth purpose among the socio- economic aspects
represented therein program (Madan, 1998).

 Consumer Protection bill and CPA1986

Based on the guidelines of United Nations, a 28-member National Consumer Protection Council,
consisting of various ministry representatives, conducted two meetings and decided to organize a
National Workshop on Consumer Protection on March 11-12, 1985 with consumer representatives.
Based on the guidelines, suggestions and recommendations made by representatives of State
Governments, Voluntary Consumer Organizations, Central Ministers and Officials of various
Government departments, at the national seminar, a draft bill was formulated. The Laws of uk, United
States of America, Australia, and New Zealand were closely studied, analyzed and were considered
while drafting the Bill (Viswanathan, 2008). After a number of inter-ministerial meetings, a final draft
was prepared and submitted to the LokSabha by then Minister of Parliamentary Affairs, and Food and
Civil Supplies, HKL Bhagat on 9th December 1986 (Rao M, 1999). There were some verbal and minor
amendments suggested by Shri C. Madhava Reddy, ShriMool Chand Daga, Prof N.G. Ranga,
ShriJainulAbedin, ShriSharadDhige, and Shri Thompson Thomas, but were withdrawn and passed on
the same day (Rao M, 1999). Simultaneously six different shopper protection laws were amended to
allow shoppers and their organizations the correct to prosecute offenders.

These laws are

 Standards of Weights and Measures Act, 1976;
 Prevention of Food Adulteration Act, 1954;
 Bureau of Indian Standards Act, 1986;
 Agricultural Produce (Grading and Marking) Act, 1937;
 Monopolies & Restrictive Trade Practices Act, 1969; and
 Essential Commodities Act, 1955 (CUTS Report, 2001)).
The parliament enacted Consumer Protection Act 1986, which received the assent of Indian president
on 24th December 1986. The Act is supposed to produce single, speedy and inexpensive redressal for
consumer grievances under a three-level quasi-judicial redressal agency. According to Shri H K L
Bhagat, this legislation was intended to provide a prompt and meaningful remedy for consumer
grievances. He realized that the success of the Act depends upon its effective implementation of
Central and State governments and also the development of broad-based voluntary shopper movement
at the grassroots level.

CONSUMER PROTECTION ACT1986

The preamble of the Act says, “An act to provide for better protection of the interests of consumers
and for that purpose to make provision for the establishment of consumer councils and other
authorities for the settlement of consumers' disputes and for matters connectedtherewith.”

 Objectives of theAct:

The Act seeks to provide for better protection of the consumers. There are provisions in the Act for
the establishment of Councils and Authorities to settle the consumer disputes.
1. The Act seeks inter alia to promote and protect the rights ofconsumers.
2. The protection of consumers’ interests and their rights are sought to be promoted and protected
through consumer protection councils established at national and Statelevel.
3. The Act seeks to provide speedy and simple redressal mechanism through quasi-judicial
machinery at the District, State and Central level. These quasi-judicial bodies are supposed to
observe the principles of Natural Justice. They areempowered
4. To give reliefs of a specific natureand
a. To award appropriate compensation to theconsumer.
b. Penalties for non-compliance of the orders given by the quasi-judicial bodies have
also been provided. (Kapoor N D,2002)
An Act to provide for better protection of the interests of consumers and for that purpose to make
provision for the establishment of consumer councils and other authorities for the settlement of
consumers' disputes and for matters connected therewith.
The Act came into effect from April 15th, 1987. And Chapter3 of the Act, which deals with
Consumer Redressal Agencies, came into effect from 1st July 1987 (Maheswari, 2008).

 Amendments
The Consumer Protection Act 1986 was amended in 1991, 1993, 2002, 2010 and another amendment
is due. The 2002 amendment was passed by RajyaSabhaon 11th April 2002 and by LokSabha ( Lower
House )on 30th July 2002 with some amendments and again by RajyaSabha ( Upper House )on
22ndNovember 2002, Assent of the President of India was given on 17th December 2002. The
provisions of the Act are being brought into force with effect from 15th March 2003. Though CPA
1986 has remedies for the consumers in the market place, they are not sufficient and consumer finds
himself/herself as helpless due to ineffective legal machinery (Chatterjee and Sahoo, 2011). The Act
needs further amendments to provide better protection to consumers in the country. (Singh and
Chadah, 2008). One amendmentbill was put forward, in the year 2011, before Parliament which was
lapsed and Amendments were proposed in the year 2015, for which the bill has been in pending for
approval (http://www.prsindia.org/).

In the recent past Government has initiated a series of steps to strengthen the mechanism of
consumer protection, in the era of E-Commerce (“Major Proposed Changes in Consumer Protection
Act”, 2016). The amendments to the bill were drafted after due consultation with different
stakeholders, with more emphasis to ensure simplicity, speed, access, affordability and timely
delivery of justice (“New Consumer Protection Bill to Ensure Timely Justice”, 2016). To handle
complaints related to misleading advertisements, issuances of guidelines, online case monitoring
system in the Consumer Forum, a portal – Grievance Against Misleading Advertisements (GAMA)
– has been launched. The government is even planning for e-filing complaints in Consumer Forum.

LEGAL PROCEDURE OF CONSUMER PROTECTION ACT IN INDIA.

As stated few years earlier, Consumer Protection act was enacted so as to have a single
comprehensive law for the protection of the interest of consumers and consumer rights and for the
creation of special courts to solve the consumer disputes speedily, effectively and inexpensive
manner.

 Salient features of the Act are as follows:

 DECLARATION OF CONSUMER RIGHTS

JUSTICE SYSTEM FOR CONSUMER

 Setting up of a separate Department of Consumer Affairs in Central and State Governments.

Setting up of a three tier consumer courts for deciding the consumer disputes,

Namely
o National Commission at national level complaints.
o State Commission at State level complaints.
o District Forums at district level complaint

SUGGESTIONS FOR CONSUMER

 The consumers should collect an original bill and the warranty card for every
important purchase.
 Consumers should check ISI mark or A-Mark printed on the goods or their labels.
 Consumers should unite together and form consumer welfare groups or any
association.
 Consumers should come forward to make a complaint on genuine grievances on time.
 Consumers should be aware and should try to enforce their rights.
 Consumers should check for proper sealing, labeling, full information about product,
health warnings, handling information, operational instructions, expiration date, etc.
 Consumers should not pay above the MRP in any circumstance.
PROBLEMS OF THE CPA 1986

No country will wittingly or inadvertently disregard the interest of the Consumer. The Consumer
Protection Act, 1986, is one in every of the examples that's to be treated as a milestone within the
history of socio-economic legislation to safeguard the interests of the consumers in India. The world’s
most outstanding and simple enactment of our parliament is Consumer Protection Such an easy law
isn't precocious to several countries. Before the enactment of this act, there have been sure enactments
that protected the consumer rights solely in Associate in nursing for health issues, Some of which are
Prevention of Food Adulteration act related to food industry, Magic Remedies act, Weights and
Measures Act, Essential Commodities Act, etc. But under these laws, the guilty ones are punished and
no direct relief is available to the consumers. Then comes the patron Protection Act, 1986 that
conjointly provides relief by the means of compensation to the patron of products and services. The
Act was brought into force from September 1, 1987, and was amended in 1993, enlarging its scope and
effectivness. The Act meets most of the demands of the consumers but still, there are various
shortcomings and limitations in the implementation of the Act.

 The consumer redressal systemor forum is becoming difficult, expensive, complicated and
time-consuming.
 Evidence and proof of misconduct is not easy to gather as cash memos are not issued for most
of the purchases.
 The existing laws are not very clear about the issue of compensation to consumers injured by
defective products or services.

SUGGESTIONS FOR IMPROVEMENTS IN THE CPA 1986

Section 2(1)(d) and 2(1)(0) of the Act should be suitably amended to modify the definition of
the terms consumer and ‘services’ to make it clear that consideration shall not be a condition
precedent in case of availing medical and municipal services provided by the government. A
victim of medical negligence or health negligence in a government hospital or by doctor
should be entitled to compensation by enlarging the definition of consumer and bringing free
services provided to the public by the government.

 The Consumer redressal Forum should be vested with powers to issue interim injunctions
restraining an undertaking or person from carrying on any unfair trade and service practice as
defined in act.
 The Consumer Redressal Forum should be empowered to take up the cases suomoto by
authority.
 In case the unfair trade practices about seller or manufacturer about which a complaint has
been made and about which the consumer Redressal Forum has given relief to the
complainant, then if Forum is of the opinion that the alleged unfair trade practices is against
public interest, it should be empowered to pass an order that the practices shall be
discontinued and shall not be repeated. This is commonly called ‘cease and desist’ ordered.
 It is absolutely essential to ensure the quality of product and services and competence of non-
judicial members who are selected to work on the Benches of Consumer redressal agencies.
 The consumer redressal agencies should be equipped with the personnel for effective and
immediate execution of their orders, and in this way the necessity of depending on Civil or
Criminal Courts would be obviated.
 There is a need to prescribe the essential infrastructure& facility to the District Forums and
State Commissions so that they are not hamstrung functioning effectively.
 The presence of lawyers should be permitted only where the complainant engages or
unavailable for physical presents, a lawyer who will justify the engagement of the lawyer by
the respondent. Otherwise. a attorney ought to be allowed solely wherever the court
specifically permits or considers it necessary. Further, it should be provided that in no case
more than two adjournments will be allowed. Furthermore, a procedure should be established
that makes it obligatory the court to right away provides a copy of the order to the parties so
 no excuse is given for the delay in submission of appeals.
 The Act should be amended to empower Consumer Courts or authority to publish the names
of manufacturers, traders and dealers whose goods are found to be hazardous to public safety.
This empowerment would work as a deterrent to the erring business community.
 The Act should be amended as to streamline the fast and fair procedure that would facilitate
expeditious disposal of consumer cases.

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