In a recent verdict pertaining to a consumer dispute case, the Supreme Courtof India ruled that the liability of a common carrier is absolute and it isnot for the consumer to prove negligence. This indicates that consumerprotection is becoming an area of increasing concern as the economy becomesmore consumer and market centric. Consumers in India as a breed lackknowledge about their rights and the legal provisions for redressal.Though India has had a Consumer Protection Act in place since 1986, it hasbeen felt time and again that the provisions of the law were insufficient toprotect consumer interests. To this end, the Act has been amended twice, in1991 and in 1993. But the provisions are still insufficient to cope withsome practical difficulties that have a bearing on the consumer courts'working. The government is now considering amending the act again this yearto protect consumers from "aggressive product advertisement" and "thepresence of duplicate goods bearing bogus ISI marks".
"A bill to this effect will be introduced in the next session ofParliament," said the Union minister for consumer affairs and publicdistribution, Shanta Kumar, in a meeting of the working group of the CentralConsumer Protection Council (CCPC).
The amended act, according to the minister, will include services like therailways, postal department and tour operators and thus be more effective.Some new clauses will also be added to ensure speedy disposal of casespending at the consumer courts.
The Consumer Protection Act promotes and protects the interests and rightsof consumers against deficiencies in goods or services purchased and againstunfair or restrictive trade practices. The act defines any person or entitybuying goods or hiring a service for personal use as a "consumer". Butdisputes pertaining to goods or services bought for commercial purposes orresale are excluded from the purview of the act. This means that in case ofa dispute, the appellant will have to prove that he bought the goods orhired the service for personal use exclusively. However, a person whoconsumes goods or uses services that he has not bought, but using them withthe consent of the person who has bought them, also comes under thedefinition of a consumer under the act. Services rendered for free are notincluded under the Consumers Protection Act.
The term "deficiency" in goods or services should be understood as anyfault, imperfection or inadequacy in the quality, nature of goods andperformance of a service. In order to file a complaint against deficiency inservice, such a service should necessarily have been rendered for aconsideration. An "unfair trade practice" occurs when any unfair ordeceptive method or practice is adopted by a seller for the purpose ofpromoting the sale (advertisement), use or supply of any goods or for theprovision of any service. These include:
False or misleading representations of the quality or quantity of goodsor services,
Misrepresentation of characteristics or uses or accessories orsponsorships, etc, which they do not have. If any guarantee is promised bythe seller as to the performance or efficacy of the goods or services, whichis not based on adequate or proper tests, this too comes under the unfairtrade practices tag,
Misleading the consumer about the price at which the product is to besold, like advertising the supply of goods or services at bargain prices,when that is not the case,
Offering of gifts, prizes with the intention of not providing them asoffered or if the price of the gift or prize is included in the itemsold,
Non-compliance with product safety standards, and finally,
Hoarding or destruction of goods.A "restrictive trade practice" includes any trade practice that requires aconsumer to buy or hire any goods or services with a prior conditionattached for such buying or hiring. The Consumer Protection Act applies toall goods and services, irrespective of private, public or cooperativeenterprises, unless the goods or services are specifically exempted by theCentral government.
The provisions of the act are compensatory in nature. This means that theconsumer is not legally required to deposit a court fee, which used to deterconsumers earlier from approaching the courts; the court's rulings come inthe form of ordering a compensation in case of a default.
Before purchasing a product, one should check its quality and guarantee. Itis always better to purchase quality products bearing government approvalmarks like ISI and AGMARK. A complaint can be launched with the pecuniaryjudiciary if a deficiency in goods or services consumed is found and thecomplaint should bear the value of the relief that is being sought. If thevalue of the concerned goods and services is less than Rs 5 lakh, thecomplaint must be filed in the District Forum. And if the value of theconcerned goods and services is between Rs 5 lakh and Rs 20 lakh, thecomplaint should be filed with the State Commission. If the value of thegoods and services exceeds Rs 20 lakh, the complaint has to be filed withthe National Commission.
Copyright © 2000 Indian Express Newspapers (Bombay) Ltd.