Business Studies · Ch 11 — Consumer Protection
Summary
Summary
- Consumer is any person who buys goods or avails a service for a consideration (paid, promised, or under deferred payment), including a user/beneficiary who used the goods or service with the buyer's approval — but not someone who buys for resale or for a commercial purpose.
- Consumer protection safeguards buyers from unfair trade practices, defective and unsafe goods, adulteration, misleading advertising, hoarding, black-marketing, and overcharging, and provides a swift mechanism for getting grievances redressed.
- Importance of consumer protection: from the consumer's side — consumer ignorance, unorganised consumers, and widespread exploitation by unscrupulous sellers. From the business side — it is in a business's long-term interest, business uses society's resources, it is a social responsibility, it is a moral duty, and it avoids inviting government intervention.
- The Consumer Protection Act, 2019 replaced the 1986 Act, extends to the whole of India, and applies to every manufacturer or trader supplying goods or services — including e-commerce firms.
- Consumer Rights: the Act provides six — Right to Safety, Right to be Informed, Right to be Assured (commonly called the Right to Choose), Right to be Heard, Right to Seek Redressal, and Right to Consumer Education.
- Consumer Responsibilities: be aware of the market, buy only standardised goods (ISI, FPO, Hallmark marks), use products safely, read labels carefully, assert yourself, be honest, ask for a cash memo, file a complaint when needed, form consumer societies, and respect the environment.
- Ways and means of consumer protection: self-regulation by business, business associations (e.g., FICCI, CII codes of conduct), consumer awareness (the Jago Grahak Jago campaign), consumer organisations, and government — through legislation (the Consumer Protection Act, 2019, and the Central Consumer Protection Authority) and direct support (the national consumer helpline, 1800-11-4000).
- Legal protection to consumers: besides the Consumer Protection Act, the Indian legal framework also includes the Indian Contract Act 1872, the Sale of Goods Act 1930, the Essential Commodities Act 1955, the Agricultural Produce (Grading and Marking) Act 1937, the Prevention of Food Adulteration Act 1954, the Standards of Weights and Measures Act 1976, the Trade Marks Act 1999, the Competition Act 2002, and the Bureau of Indian Standards Act 1986.
- Redressal agencies: a three-tier machinery — the District Commission (claims up to Rs 50 lakh), the State Commission (Rs 50 lakh to Rs 2 crore), and the National Commission (above Rs 2 crore) — each level's order can be appealed to the next within a fixed time limit, and finally to the Supreme Court; an unappealed order becomes final. …