Consumer Protection in India Avinash K Srivastava Secretary

Consumer Protection in India Avinash K Srivastava Secretary Department of Consumer Affairs Government of India

Compliance of UNGCP India complies with its obligations under UNGCP through various instruments to protect consumers rights Ø Consumer Protection Act, 1986 (under revision) Ø Bureau of Indian Standards Act, 2016 Ø Legal Metrology Act, 2009 Ø Price Monitoring of essential commodities Ø Price Stabilisation Fund (PSF)

Consumer Protection Act, 1986 Ø Exclusive consumer disputes redressal machinery at the national, state and district levels; alternative to civil court Ø Provides for simple, speedy and inexpensive redressal Ø Ensures rights of consumers for safety, information, choice, representation, redressal and consumer education Ø Applies to all goods and services. Ø Redressal against defect in goods, deficiency in services, restrictive / unfair trade practices Ø Reliefs include removal of defect or deficiency in services, refund of price or award of compensation

Consumer Rights under the Act Ø Right to Safety - protection against hazardous goods and services Ø Right to be Informed - about the quality, quantity, potency, purity, and price of goods Ø Right to Choose - access to variety of goods and services at competitive price Ø Right to be heard Ø Right to Seek redressal - Consumer Fora Ø Right to Consumer Education

Consumer Protection Bill 2017 Ø To modernize the legislation on consumer protection Ø To enable swift executive intervention to prevent detriment to a class of consumers v A Consumer Protection Authority to enforce and protect consumer interests against unfair trade practices. Ø Mediation as a formal ADR.

Consumer Protection Bill 2017 Ø Online filing of complaints Ø Provides for product liability action to a claimant. Ø Rules for e-commerce and direct selling provided for Ø Provisions to check misleading advertisements and adulteration of products

Bureau of Indian Standards (BIS) Act, 2016 Ø Replaces the earlier BIS Act, 1986 Ø Establishes BIS as the National Standards Body of India Ø Enabling provision to bring under compulsory certification any goods, process, or service in the public interest or for the protection of human, animal or plant health, safety of the environment, or prevention of unfair trade practices, or national security Ø Multiple conformity assessment schemes including selfdeclaration of conformity

Bureau of Indian Standards (BIS) Act, 2016 Ø Other authorities/agencies, in addition to the BIS, may verify the conformity of products and services to a standard and issue certificate of conformity Ø Enabling provisions for mandatory hallmarking of precious metal articles Ø Provisions for recall including product liability

PRICE MONITORING – Daily monitoring of wholesale and retail prices of 22 essential food items from 100 centers – Commodities include cereals (2), pulses (5), edible oils (6), vegetables (3) and others (6) • Regular monitoring assists in policy intervention for moderating prices of essential food commodities 9

Price Stabilisation Fund Ø Government approved creation of a dynamic buffer of up to 20 lakh metric tonnes of pulses Ø Increased income to farmers Ø To moderate the price rise of pulses, pulses from the buffer were released at subsidized rates to States /Central Agencies/ open market sales Ø Near self – sufficiency in pulses achieved Ø Prices greatly moderated

LEGAL METROLOGY Ø India is a member of International Organization of Legal Metrology. Ø The Legal Metrology (Packaged Commodities) Rules, 2011 require declaration of name of Manufacturer/Importer/Packer, name of the commodity, net quantity, month & year of manufacture, retail sale price and consumer care details on the packages Ø Enforcement Action is the responsibility of Controllers of Legal Metrology in the States.

IMPACT OF GST ON UNSOLD STOCK OF PREPACKAGED COMMODITIES: Ø On account of implementation of GST w. e. f. 1 st July, 2017, there were instances where the retail sale price of a pre-packaged commodity required to be changed. Ø Permission given to all manufacturers / packers / importers of pre-packaged commodities to declare the revised retail sale price (MRP) on unsold stocks.

NATIONAL CONSUMER HELPLINE Ø Three constituents – calls and contact centre, Data Processing, and an Analysis & Advocacy. Ø Receives about 40000 calls a month Ø Has partnered with more than 300 companies to whom complaints are transferred online for resolution. Ø New software INGRAM to include all stakeholders – Central and State Government Agencies, Regulators etc. Ø Provides knowledge base on various sectors to consumers Ø 6 Zonal Helplines to provide consumer service in local language set up

NEW DIGITAL INITIATIVES Ø Consumer App to access the NCH Ø Online Consumer Mediation Centre at National Law School University, Bangalore, Ø Smart Consumer App to read barcodes. Ø Online Consumer communities for presenting their views , grievances and suggestions enabling the Department to know the pulse of the public Ø GAMA portal to redress grievances against misleading advertisements

Thank You 11/28/2020 15