The Consumer Protection Act of 2019, which has replaced the 1986 law has given scope to consumer courts to deal with complaints pertaining to e-commerce, direct selling entities and unfair contracts. To discuss various provisions of Act and to discuss the Consumer Rights, Assocham alongwith FJCCI organized knowledge management virtual meet on consumer protection —
The People’s Right.
At the virtual meet, the speakers discussed various provisions of Act such as product liability action against manufacturers, sellers and service providers for any defects or deficiencies or even failure to provide adequate warning about the use of the product or service.
Government officials and industry including Nidhi Khare, Additional Secretary, Department of Consumer Affairs, Government of India, Santanu Kumar Agrahari Joint Secretary Food Public Distribution & Consumer Affairs, (Jharkhand), Atri Bhattacharya, IAS, Additional Chief Secretary, Consumer Affairs Dept (West Bengal) and others attended the meet. Industry experts such as Rajat Banerjee, VP Corporate Affairs, Amway India Enterprises Pvt Ltd, Venkat Reddy Donthi Reddy Advocate, RVR Associates , IPR Attorneys & Advocates, Bejon Misra, International Consumer Policy Expert, Anuj Singh, Amway Business Owner and others attended the meet.
In the meeting, Khare talked about the various provisions laid in the Act protecting the rights of digital consumers. She claimed that the new law is in tune with the modern day concepts of consumer protection, the new market dynamics and the rapid advances in digital technology that has so transformed our world.
The event started with an introduction by Bharat Jaiswal, RD, Assocham. Jaiswal in his address highlighting the provisions of consumer protection act said that in this age everyone is consumers in the literal sense of the term. “When we buy things from the market as a consumer, we expect value for money, i.e., quality, quantity, right price, information about the mode of use, etc. However, there may be instances where a consumer is cheated,” said Jaiswal.
“In such cases, most of us do not know whom to approach to seek redressal. Moreover, a majority of us also are unaware of our “rights” as a consumer and often hesitate to complain or even stand up to unfair practices & injustice,” added Jaiswal.
Bejon Misra, International Consumer Policy Expert on the occasion said that due to the digitalization, the old Act possessed certain challenges and needed immediate attention and the time has come where consumers can witness and cherish the new Consumer Protection Act, 2019 that has recently replaced the three-decade old Consumer Protection Act, 1986.