The new Consumer Protection Act comes with 8 major changes.
- Covers E- Commerce Transactions.
- Place of filing of Consumer Complaint.
- E – filing of Complaints.
- Pecuniary jurisdiction has been enhanced.
- Punishment for misleading advertisement.
- Product liability action.
- Central Consumer Protection Authority (CCPA) has been established.
- Provision for Alternate Dispute Resolution.
This new Consumer Protection Act, 2019 is a great initiative taken by the government and this would be very helpful for consumers. Nowadays where everything is online from shopping to paying, this was the need of the hour to have such kind of strict laws to protect consumers.
This new amendment will totally ease out the consumer situation through adding various essential point in favour of consumer. As we know that The Consumer Protection Act,2019 comes into force from 20th July with its salient features including the establishment of the Central Consumer Protection Authority (CCPA) to promote, protect and enforce the right of consumers.
In earlier act, there was no separate regulator. But in this Act, Central Consumer Protection Authority to be formed. Even consumer can seek compensation for harm caused by a product or service. Court can refer settlement through mediation.
Under this act, every E – Commerce entity is required to provide information relating to returns, refund, exchange, warranty and guarantee, delivery and shipment,etc. In this amendment Let the Buyer be aware concept has been changed into Let the sellers be aware, so we can say that the Act is beneficial for the buyers. The new Act provide protection to buyers not only from traditional sellers but also from the new e-commerce retailers and platforms.
The act is a welcome change in favor of the consumers as it provides them with clearly defined rights and dispute resolution process such as mediation which may enable them to resolve their grievances on a fast – track basis. This new rights will surely help the consumer in this modern era where everything has become online. Basically the law of 2019 has come up with various positive changes and it is expected that it will continue to resolve issued faced by previous act.
So the new act is certainly a welcome change for consumers. It takes those extra steps required for addressing the concerns and loopholes in the earlier law, especially relating to the increasingly popular online transactions and e – commerce where the legal rights and liabilities of the respective parties were unclear under the Old act.
There is a definite shift in the approach towards a more consumer – friendly law that not only makes it easier for a consumer to initiate consumer disputes but also enhances his or her rights and impose additional safeguards and liabilities on manufacturers and endorsers.
Various other changes have been done in the act such as
- The District Forum has been renamed as the District Commission.
- The District Commission can now hear cases with a value of upto INR 1 Crore.
- The State Commission can now hear cases with a value of upto INR 10 crores.
- Product sellers to be held liable for faulty goods.
- A consumer can file a case wherever he resides.
Aishwarya Says:
I have always been against Glorifying Over Work and therefore, in the year 2021, I have decided to launch this campaign “Balancing Life”and talk about this wrong practice, that we have been following since last few years. I will be talking to and interviewing around 1 lakh people in the coming 2021 and publish their interview regarding their opinion on glamourising Over Work.
If you are interested in participating in the same, do let me know.
Do follow me on Facebook, Twitter Youtube and Instagram.
The copyright of this Article belongs exclusively to Ms. Aishwarya Sandeep. Reproduction of the same, without permission will amount to Copyright Infringement. Appropriate Legal Action under the Indian Laws will be taken.
If you would also like to contribute to my website, then do share your articles or poems at adv.aishwaryasandeep@gmail.com
We also have a Facebook Group Restarter Moms for Mothers or Women who would like to rejoin their careers post a career break or women who are enterpreneurs.
We are also running a series Inspirational Women from January 2021 to March 31,2021, featuring around 1000 stories about Indian Women, who changed the world. #choosetochallenge