(Image source from: lawyer-monthly.com)

Last year in August, President Ram Nath Kovind has signed Consumer Protection Action Act 2019 and this comes into force from this July. It seeks to make corporate accountable for quality of goods being sold.

The Consumer Protection Act 2019 aims to protect the rights of the customers by authorizing timely and effective administration by the manufacturers. It also aims for timely settlement of consumers’ disputes.

This new Consumer Protection Act 2019 replaces the more than three decades old Consumers Protect Act 1986.

The act which came into force on Monday, July 20, gives the consumers more control over the quality of goods and services being provided to them by the corporations. The bill was signed by President Ram Nath Kovind in August last year.

The Consumer Protection Bill 2019 was introduced in Rajya Sabha by the minister of consumer affairs, Ram Vilas Paswan on July 8.

It was acknowledged by Lok Sabha on July 30, 2019 and was later cleared by Rajya Sabha on August 6, 2019.

how the Consumer Protection Act 2019 Will Help You:

                     (Image source from: www.jagranjosh.com)

Coming into effect from July 20, the Consumer protection Act of 2019 will have numerous benefits for the consumers. Here’s everything you need to know.

• The government has provided the provisions for this act earlier in this month and the provisions are related to consumer protection councils, customer disputes redressal forum, the penalty for manufacturing, liability of services and products, spurious goods or products that contain adulterants.
• As per these new provisions, the consumers will have a right to drag the manufacturers, sellers or even distributors to court if they are found dealing with adulterated products.
• The new act allows customers to file complaints claiming compensation for the spurious products.
• The courts will have full authority as per the law to award the manufacturers or sellers with up to 6 months in jail or up to 1 lakh fine in cases where the consumers are not injured by the usage of their products.
• In case where the consumer is injured, the fine for the manufacturer, seller or distributor will be up to 5 lakhs with 7 years of imprisonment.
• In cases of deaths of the consumers, the fine would go up to 10 lakhs and 7 years imprisonment which can be extended to life imprisonment.
• The new law gives the privilege for consumers to register their complaints at a district or state consumer commission, importantly at the place where the complainant resides and not at the place where the product was bought.

Other parts of this act pertaining to advertisements, rules for e-commerce websites and rules for celebrity endorsements are yet to be notified by the government.

By Gayatri Yellayi