The Union Minister of State for Consumer Affairs, Food and Public Distribution, Shri Ashwini Kumar Choubey in a written reply to a question in Rajya Sabha today informed that the status of consumer cases filed in Consumer Commissions across the country in last 3 years is at Annexure.

Section 38(7) of the Consumer Protection Act, 2019 prescribes that every complaint shall be disposed of as expeditiously as possible and endeavour shall be made to decide the complaint within a period of three months from the date of receipt of notice by opposite party where the complaint does not require analysis or testing of commodities and within five months if it requires analysis or testing of commodities.

The Consumer Protection Act, 2019 has replaced and repealed the 33 year old Consumer Protection Act, 1986. Salient features of the Consumer Protection Act, 2019 are inter-aliaestablishment of a Central Consumer Protection Authority to regulate misleading advertisements and unfair trade practices affecting consumers as a class; simplification of the adjudication process in the Consumer Commissions such as revising pecuniary jurisdiction of the Consumer Commissions, filing of complaint in the Consumer Commission having jurisdiction over the place of work/residence of the consumer irrespective of the place of transaction, e-filing; deemed admissibility of complaints, if admissibility is not decided within 21 days of filing; mediation to facilitate early disposal of cases; provision of product liability.

The Consumer Protection (Consumer Disputes Redressal Commissions) Rules, 2020 notified under the ibid Act providesthat no fees is required for registering cases in  the District Consumer Disputes Redressal Commissions involving value of goods or services paid as consideration upto 5 lakhs.

Rules under the Consumer Protection Act, 2019 w.r.t. e-commerce and direct selling sectors have also been notified by the Central Government. The Central Consumer Protection Authority has been established w.e.f. 24.07.2020 to protect and promote the rights of consumers. Further, the Central Consumer Protection Authority has also inter-alia notified guidelines for prevention of misleading advertisements and endorsements for misleading advertisements, 2022 to curb misleading advertisements and protect the interests of consumers.

ANNEXURE

Consumer Complaints received in Consumer Commissions during last three years

* includes disposal against old pendency also

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AM/NS