Consumer Protection Act, 2019

Consumer Protection Act

Protect the interest of consumers

Speedy trial
Reasons for consumer case:

•When defective goods

•Deficiency in services
Consumer Protection Act

Definitions
(Section 2)
 Mediation

 Mediation cell

 With consent of both parties-settlement

 S. 2 (25) "mediation" means the process by which a mediator mediates

the consumer disputes;
 S. 2 (26) "mediator" means a mediator referred to in section 75
Section 2 (42)
“service”
means
 service of any description which is made available to
potential users and includes, but not limited to, the provision
of facilities in connection with banking, financing, insurance,
transport, processing, supply of electrical or other energy,
board or lodging or both, housing construction,
entertainment, amusement or the purveying of news or
other information, but does not include the rendering of any
service free of charge or under a contract of personal service
 Telephone, railway (late, change in time, platform without
light, theft of parked car)
 AIRLINE-inform flight time change-cancel suddenly due to
strike (not negligence), leaving before time
 ELECTRICITY-disconnect, voltage fluctuation, defective
meter
 INSURANCE-fire, accident
 BANK-cheque issue charge valid, strike by bank employees
valid, payment despite stop payment instruments deficiency
Advance deposit-Scooter
 Case: Mumbai Grahak Panchayat v. Andhra Pradesh Scooters
Ltd.
 Advance deposit of 500rs for booking scooter-failure-
Refund-not given-held, deficiency in service
 Bank FD premature-deny-defective service
 Subscriber-Jio, BSNL
Section 2 (11) “deficiency”
 means any fault, imperfection, shortcoming or inadequacy in
the quality, nature and manner of performance which is
required to be maintained by or under any law for the time
being in force or has been undertaken to be performed by a
person in pursuance of a contract or otherwise in relation to
any service
Fortune Infrastructure v. Trevor D’Lima
(2018) 5 SCC 442
 Person cannot be made to wait indefinitely for possession of
the flat allotted to him, and is entitled to seek refund of the
amount paid by him as well as compensation.
Section 2 (10) “defect”
 means any fault, imperfection or shortcoming in the quality,
quantity, potency, purity or standard which is required to be
maintained by or under any law or under any contract,
express or implied, or as is claimed by the trader in any
manner whatsoever in relation to any goods
Section 2 (21) “goods”
 Every kind of movable property
Section 2 (16) “E-commerce”
 Buying or selling of goods or services including digital
products over digital or electronic network
Section 2 (6)
“complaint”
means any allegation in writing made by a complainant that—
 an unfair trade practice or a restrictive trade practice has been adopted by any trader or service
provider
 the goods bought by him or agreed to be bought by him suffer from one or more defects
 the services hired or availed of or agreed to be hired or availed of by him suffer from deficiency in
any respect;
 a trader or the service provider has charged for the goods or for the services mentioned in the
complaint, a price in excess of the price—
(a) fixed by or under any law
(b) displayed on the goods or any package containing such goods
(c) displayed on the price list exhibited by him by or under any law
(d) agreed between the parties
(e) goods which will be hazardous to life and safety when used are being offered for sale to
the public
 in contravention of any standards relating to safety of such goods as required to be complied with,
by or under any law for the time being in force;
 if the trader could have known with due diligence that the goods so offered are unsafe to the public
 services which are hazardous or likely to be hazardous to life and safety of the public when used, are
being offered by the service provider which such person could have known with due diligence to be
injurious to life and safety with a view to obtaining any relief provided by or under this Act
Section 2 (5) “complainant”
means—
 a consumer;

 any voluntary consumer association registered under the

Companies Act, 2013 or under any other law
 Central Government or any State Government, who or
which makes a complaint
 one or more consumers, where there are numerous
consumers having the same interest
 in case of death of a consumer, his legal heir or
representative
Section 2 (7) “consumer”
means any person who,—
 buys any goods for a consideration which has been paid or promised or
partly paid and partly promised, or under any system of deferred payment
and includes any user of such goods other than the person who buys such
goods for consideration paid or promised or partly paid or partly
promised, or under any system of deferred payment when such use is
made with the approval of such person, but does not include a person who
obtains such goods for resale or for any commercial purpose or
 hires or avails of any services for a consideration which has been paid or
promised or partly paid and partly promised, or under any system of
deferred payment and includes any beneficiary of such services other than
the person who hires or avails of the services for consideration paid or
promised, or partly paid and partly promised, or under any system of
deferred payment, when such services are availed of with the approval of
the first mentioned person but does not include a person who avails of
such services for any commercial purpose
Who is consumer?
• Goods
• Services
• Own use
• Online or offline
• Cycle, car, anything buy-for consideration (paid 100% or partly)-insurance
policy, travel ticket-service-Torrent/GEB-student is not consumer-service
provider
Self employment
 If a person purchases a taxi or sewing machine or any other
goods which are to be used by him exclusively for the
purpose of earning livelihood by means of self employment,
it is not commercial purpose. That person is consumer.
Examinee-Not a consumer
 Case: Bihar School Examination Board v. Suresh Prasad Sinha
AIR 2010 SC 93
 School Examination Board-not a service provider
 Students-not a consumer
 Non commercial function
 Not availment of service by student
 Examination fees paid by student-not consideration for
availment of any service
Buyer of goods for a consideration
 Transactions of transfer of services, exchange (barter etc.)
will come within the purview of consumer. (not only money
transactions)
Building construction
 Sujit kumar Banerjee v. M/s. Ramesh Wasan
 In case of agreement between land owner and the builder for
the construction of a building and delivery of agreed
construction area, the land owner is a consumer and the
builder is a service provider.
Section 2 (8)
“consumer dispute”
 means a dispute where the person against whom a complaint
has been made, denies or disputes the allegations contained in
the complaint
Section 2 (31)
“person”
includes—
 a firm (whether registered or not)
 a Hindu undivided family
 a co-operative society
 An association of persons (whether registered under the
Societies Registration Act, 1860 or not)
 Section 2 (22)
“harm”
in relation to a product liability, includes—
(i) damage to any property, other than the product itself;
(ii) personal injury, illness or death;
(iii) mental agony or emotional distress attendant to personal injury
or illness or damage to property; or
(iv) any loss of consortium or services or other loss resulting from a
harm referred to in sub clause (i) or sub-clause (ii) or sub-
clause (iii), but shall not include any harm caused to a product
itself or any damage to the property on account of breach of
warranty conditions or any commercial or economic loss,
including any direct, incidental or consequential loss relating
thereto;
Section 2 (24)
“manufacturer”
means a person who—
(i) makes any goods or parts thereof; or
(ii) assembles any goods or parts thereof made by others; or
(iii) puts or causes to be put his own mark on any goods made
by any other person
Section 2 (22)
“harm”
in relation to a product liability, includes—
(i) damage to any property, other than the product itself;
(ii) personal injury, illness or death;
(iii) mental agony or emotional distress attendant to personal injury
or illness or damage to property; or
(iv) any loss of consortium or services or other loss resulting from a
harm referred to in sub clause (i) or sub-clause (ii) or sub-
clause (iii), but shall not include any harm caused to a product
itself or any damage to the property on account of breach of
warranty conditions or any commercial or economic loss,
including any direct, incidental or consequential loss relating
thereto;
 Section 2 (47)
“unfair trade practice”
means a trade practice which, for the purpose of promoting the sale, use or supply of any goods or for
the provision of any service, adopts any unfair method or unfair or deceptive practice including any
of the following practices, namely:—
(i) making any statement, whether orally or in writing or by visible representation including by
means of electronic record, which—
(a) falsely represents that the goods are of a particular standard, quality, quantity, grade,
composition, style or model;
(b) falsely represents that the services are of a particular standard, quality or grade;
(c) falsely represents any re-built, second-hand, renovated, reconditioned or old goods as
new goods;
(d) represents that the goods or services have sponsorship, approval, performance,
characteristics, accessories, uses or benefits which such goods or services do not have;
(e) represents that the seller or the supplier has a sponsorship or approval or affiliation which
such seller or supplier does not have;
(f) makes a false or misleading representation concerning the need for, or the usefulness of,
any goods or services;
(g) gives to the public any warranty or guarantee of the performance, efficacy or length of
life of a product or of any goods that is not based on an adequate or proper test thereof
 Section 2 (47)
“unfair trade practice”
Provided that where a defence is raised to the effect that such warranty or guarantee
is based on adequate or proper test, the burden of proof of such defence shall lie
on the person raising such defence;
(h) makes to the public a representation in a form that purports to be—
(A) a warranty or guarantee of a product or of any goods or services; or
(B) a promise to replace, maintain or repair an article or any part thereof or to
repeat or continue a service until it has achieved a specified result, if such
purported warranty or guarantee or promise is materially misleading or if there is
no reasonable prospect that such warranty, guarantee or promise will be carried
out;
(i) materially misleads the public concerning the price at which a product or like
products or goods or services, have been or are, ordinarily sold or provided, and,
for this purpose, a representation as to price shall be deemed to refer to the price
at which the product or goods or services has or have been sold by sellers or
provided by suppliers generally in the relevant market unless it is clearly specified
to be the price at which the product has been sold or services have been provided
by the person by whom or on whose behalf the representation is made;
 Section 2 (47)
“unfair trade practice”
(j) gives false or misleading facts disparaging the goods, services or trade of another person.
Explanation.—For the purposes of this sub-clause, a statement that is,—
(A) expressed on an article offered or displayed for sale, or on its wrapper or container; or
(B) expressed on anything attached to, inserted in, or accompanying, an article offered or
displayed for sale, or on anything on which the article is mounted for display or sale; or
(C) contained in or on anything that is sold, sent, delivered, transmitted or in any other
manner whatsoever made available to a member of the public, shall be deemed to be a
statement made to the public by, and only by, the person who had caused the statement to
be so expressed, made or contained;
(ii) permitting the publication of any advertisement, whether in any newspaper or otherwise,
including by way of electronic record, for the sale or supply at a bargain price of goods or
services that are not intended to be offered for sale or supply at the bargain price, or for a
period that is, and in quantities that are, reasonable, having regard to the nature of the
market in which the business is carried on, the nature and size of business, and the nature
of the advertisement.
 Section 2 (47)
“unfair trade practice”
Explanation.—For the purpose of this sub-clause, "bargain price" means,—
(A) a price that is stated in any advertisement to be a bargain price, by reference to an ordinary price or otherwise; or
(B) a price that a person who reads, hears or sees the advertisement, would reasonably understand to be a bargain price having
regard to the prices at which the product advertised or like products are ordinarily sold;

(iii) permitting— (a) the offering of gifts, prizes or other items with the intention of not providing them as offered or creating
impression that something is being given or offered free of charge when it is fully or partly covered by the amount charged, in the
transaction as a whole; (b) the conduct of any contest, lottery, game of chance or skill, for the purpose of promoting, directly or
indirectly, the sale, use or supply of any product or any business interest, except such contest, lottery, game of chance or skill as may
be prescribed; (c) withholding from the participants of any scheme offering gifts, prizes or other items free of charge on its closure,
the information about final results of the scheme. Explanation.—For the purpose of this sub-clause, the participants of a scheme shall
be deemed to have been informed of the final results of the scheme where such results are within a reasonable time published,
prominently in the same newspaper in which the scheme was originally advertised; (iv) permitting the sale or supply of goods
intended to be used, or are of a kind likely to be used by consumers, knowing or having reason to believe that the goods do not
comply with the standards prescribed by the competent authority relating to performance, composition, contents, design,
constructions, finishing or packaging as are necessary to prevent or reduce the risk of injury to the person using the goods; (v)
permitting the hoarding or destruction of goods, or refusal to sell the goods or to make them available for sale or to provide any
service, if such hoarding or destruction or refusal raises or tends to raise or is intended to raise, the cost of those or other similar
goods or services; (vi) manufacturing of spurious goods or offering such goods for sale or adopting deceptive practices in the
provision of services; 11 (vii) not issuing bill or cash memo or receipt for the goods sold or services rendered in such manner as may
be prescribed; (viii) refusing, after selling goods or rendering services, to take back or withdraw defective goods or to withdraw or
discontinue deficient services and to refund the consideration thereof, if paid, within the period stipulated in the bill or cash memo or
receipt or in the absence of such stipulation, within a period of thirty days; (ix) disclosing to other person any personal information
given in confidence by the consumer unless such disclosure is made in accordance with the provisions of any law for the time being in
force.
 Section 2 (41)
“restrictive trade practice”
means a trade practice which tends to bring about manipulation of price
or its conditions of delivery or to affect flow of supplies in the market
relating to goods or services in such a manner as to impose on the
consumers unjustified costs or restrictions and shall include–
(i) delay beyond the period agreed to by a trader in supply of such
goods or in providing the services which has led or is likely to lead
to rise in the price;
(ii) any trade practice which requires a consumer to buy, hire or avail
of any goods or, as the case may be, services as condition precedent
for buying, hiring or availing of other goods or services;
 Section 2 (33)
“product”
means any article or goods or substance or raw material or any
extended cycle of such product, which may be in gaseous, liquid, or
solid state possessing intrinsic value which is capable of delivery
either as wholly assembled or as a component part and is produced
for introduction to trade or commerce, but does not include human
tissues, blood, blood products and organs;
 Section 2 (34)
“product liability”
means the responsibility of a product manufacturer or product seller, of
any product or service, to compensate for any harm caused to a
consumer by such defective product manufactured or sold or by
deficiency in services relating thereto;