Renthamo N Murry
B.A 2nd Semester (Economics)
Immanuel College
Consumer Rights was officially enacted in 1972 and it was enforced by the Federal Consumer Product Commission. When we talk about Consumer Rights it means the consumer has every right to have information about the quality, potency, quantity, purity, price and standard of goods or services. Also the consumer is to be protected against any unfair practices of trade. There are many laws and the most important is Consumer Protection Act (COPRA). The consumer rights in India are listed below:
The right to be protected from all kinds of hazardous goods and services.
The right to be fully informed about the performances and quality of all goods and services.
The right to free choice of goods and services.
The right to be heard in all decision making processes related to consumer interest.
The right to seek redressal, whenever consumer rights have been infringed.
The right to complete consumer education.
The Consumer Protection Act was enacted in 1986 to protect the interest of consumers in India.The Act was passed in an Assembly in October 1986 and came into force on December 24, 1986. However the Minister of Consumer Affairs, Food and Public Distribution Ram Vilas Paswan introduced a new Consumer Protection Bill 2019 in the Lok Sabha on 8 July 2019 to replace the Consumer Protection Act 1986.The 2019 Act has been enacted for the purpose of providing timely and effective administration and settlement of consumer disputes and related matters .The 2019 Act expands the scope of the definition of consumer so as to include the consumers involved in online transactions and cover the E-commerce business. The 2019 Act has also widened the definition of unfair trade practices as compared to the 1986 Act which now includes within its ambit online misleading advertisements, practice of not issuing bill, failing to take back defective goods and refunding the amount on time. The 2019 Act has also introduced the concept of ‘Unfair Contract’. One of the most significant additions to the 2019 Act is the proposal to establish the concept of Product Liability and Central Consumer Protection Authority (CCPA) so as to regulate, product manufacturer, service, and seller for any claim for compensation and to protect and enforce the interest of the consumers and matters related to unfair trade practices.
