Key Definitions under the Act

Several terms carry a precise legal meaning under the Consumer Protection Act, 2019, and a good examination answer is expected to use the Act's own definitions rather than everyday, loose usage of these words.

A consumer is any person who buys goods, or hires or avails of any service, for a consideration that has been paid, promised, part-paid and part-promised, or paid under a system of deferred payment — and this includes any user of such goods (with the buyer's approval) or any beneficiary of such service (other than the person who actually hires or avails it), provided the goods or service are for personal use and not for resale or for a commercial purpose. Importantly, the 2019 Act expressly clarifies that a purchase or service availed through electronic means — including online marketplaces, teleshopping, direct selling, or multi-level marketing — is fully covered by this definition, closing a gap that had caused real confusion under the 1986 Act.

Goods, under the Act, means every kind of movable property, and includes food as defined under food-safety law. Service means any service made available to potential users, and includes (but is not limited to) facilities connected with banking, financing, insurance, transport, processing, supply of electrical or other energy, housing construction, entertainment, amusement, and the purveying of news or information; it does not include a service rendered free of charge or under a contract of personal service.

A defect is any fault, imperfection, or shortcoming in the quality, quantity, potency, purity, or standard of goods that is required to be maintained by or under any law, or as claimed by the trader about those goods. A deficiency is the equivalent idea applied to services — any fault, imperfection, shortcoming, or inadequacy in the nature, quality, or manner of performance of a service; the 2019 Act widens this further to include any act of negligence, omission, or commission by a service provider that causes loss or injury to a consumer, and any deliberate withholding of relevant information by the provider.

An unfair trade practice covers a wide range of deceptive conduct — false representation about the standard, quality, or usefulness of goods or services, and false or misleading advertisement. Notably new under the 2019 Act, it also covers a trader's or service provider's failure to issue a bill or cash memo for what has been sold or provided, and refusal to take back defective goods or to withdraw a deficient service and refund the amount within the time stipulated. A closely related, entirely new idea is product liability — the responsibility of a product manufacturer, product seller, or product service provider to compensate a consumer for harm caused by a defective product or a deficient service connected with that product.