‘New Act to protect rights of consumers’

PATNA: The business class of the state hailed the

Consumer Protection Act

,

2019

, which came into effect on Monday. They said it would give more powers to consumers regarding the quality of goods and services provided to them.

Bihar Chamber of Commerce and Industries (BCCI) president PK Agarwal said the new Act has tried to give maximum benefits to the consumers. “It gives the provision of taking the service provider to the court if they are found providing adulterated products. If a consumer gets harmed by a product in case of something wrong, the provider will have to pay hefty fines and will even get imprisoned,” he said.

Chartered accountant (CA) Bijender Goel said the new provisions have made it easier to file a case against products bought from companies from other states. “Earlier, consumers were required to go to the state for filing a case. Now, they can do it within their own states. Besides, it can be done via online platforms. Moreover, traders and manufacturers on e-commerce sites can be penalized for selling products that are different from the one shown on the online platform,” he said.

“The district forum, which has been renamed as the District Commission, can now hear cases with a value of up to Rs1 crore and the State Commission can hear cases up to Rs10 crore. Similarly, the National Consumer Disputes Redressal Commission (NCDRC) can hear cases with value above Rs10 crore,” he added.

“The fresh provisions will prove to be a boon for the aggrieved customers who can now file complaint from any place irrespective of the location where goods were bought or sold. Moreover, some bulky fine and strict imprisonment rules are set to create sufficient protections for the consumers’ rights,” said Ram Shankar, secretary, Patna branch of Institute of Chartered Accountants of India (ICAI).

Traders and shopkeepers gave mixed response. Welcoming the new Act, Maurya Lok Shopkeepers’ Kalyan Samiti president Rajesh Kumar Dabloo said the frauds, who are running a market of fake products, will no longer survive. “The provisions are very beneficial in eradicating duplicate manufacturers from the society,” he said.

However, owner of a sari and women’s wear shop, Ajay Kumar, said the government should ensure that manufacturers are selling the products at normal rates as most of them have increased the price following the lockdown. “Several supermarkets in the city have been shut owing to scarcity of products. The authorities should ensure availability of products,” he said.


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