The Union Minister of Consumer Affairs, Food and Public Distribution Shri Ram Vilas Paswan today held wide ranging discussions on the rules and regulations to be formed under the New Consumer Protection Act, 2019 with several Members of Parliament (MPs) from Lok Sabha and Rajya Sabha along with the current and former Secretaries from Department of Consumer Affairs and senior officials of the Ministry and media personnel. The discussions covered multiple important aspects of the new Consumer Protection Act, 2019 such as the Central Consumer Protection Authority (CCPA), District, State and National Commissions, mediation rules, e-commerce rules, misleading advertisements etc.

Addressing the media after the meeting, Shri Paswan informed in Parliament during the discussion on the bill that MPs who had expressed their suggestions would be called for an open discussion so that maximum suggestions can be incorporated in the rules. Shri Paswan expressed happiness about the fact that MPs across party lines came to discuss such an important issue which has wide ranging impact on lives of consumers across the nation.

The Union Minister for Consumer Affairs, Food and Public Distribution Shri Ram Vilas Paswan invited all MPs, Secretaries, officials as well as Media personnel to give their other suggestions on the formulation of rules and regulations in writing to the Secretary, Consumer Affairs, Shri Avinash K Srivastava by 15^th September, 2019. Shri Paswan said that it will be the endeavour for the Ministry to ensure that all suggestions are suitably considered within the legal framework and the best possible outcome is achieved in terms of drafting comprehensive rules and regulations under the Consumer Protection Act, 2019.

Shri Paswan also asserted that while it usually takes a year or two to form the rules and regulations under any Act, the same under the Consumer Protection Act, 2019 will be formed within the next 3 months and notified before 31^st December, 2019 itself. Talking about exclusion of Health Sector from the purview of the Bill, Shri Paswan said that rules for the health sector will continue to remain as they are currently. He said that the views of Health Ministry was also considered and the consumers are free to approach consumer fora in case of any infringement of their rights.

Several MPs hailed the initiative taken by the Union Minister for Consumer Affairs Shri Ram Vilas Paswan for calling a meeting of MPs across party lines to incorporate their suggestions in the rule formulation process. It was stated that usually the function of MPs end after passage of the bill but this new endeavour has given a fresh impetus to MPs to give their suggestions and inputs. Several suggestions given today were recorded and will now be considered to the extent possible for being incorporated in the rules and regulations.

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APS/AS