Short title, extent, commencement and application

 This Act may be called the Consumer Protection Act, 1986.

 It extends to the whole of India except the State of Jammu and Kashmir.
 It came into force on April 15, 1987

Objects of the Act

 Better protection of interest of consumers:

 Protection of rights of consumers: such as
1) The right to be protected against marketing of goods or services which are hazardous
to life and property
2) The right to be informed about the quality, quantity, potency, purity, standard and
price of goods and services
3) The right to be assured, wherever possible, access to goods and services at
competitive prices
4) The right to seek redressal against unfair trade practices
5) Right to consumer education

 Consumer protection Councils

 Quasi-judicial machinery for speedy redressal of consumer disputes: to provide simple and
speedy redressal to consumer disputes.

Definition:

a) "complainant" means
 "complaint" means any allegation made by a complainant that - a consumer;
 or any voluntary consumer association registered under the Companies Act, 1956 (1 of
1956), or under any other law for the time being in force; or
 the Central Government or any State Government who or which makes a complaint; one
or more consumers, where there are numerous consumers having the same interest

b) an unfair trade practice or a restrictive trade practice has been adopted by any trader;
 the goods bought by him or agreed to be bought by him suffer from one or more defects;
 the services hired or availed of or agreed to be hired or availed of by him suffer from
deficiency in any respect;
 a trader has charged for the goods mentioned in the complaint price in excess of the price
fixed by or under any law for the time being in force or displayed on the goods for any
package containing such goods,
 goods which will be hazardous to life and safety when used, are being offered for sale to
the public in contravention of the provisions of any law for the time being in force
requiring traders to display information in regard to the contents, manner and effect of
use of such goods. with a view to obtaining any relief provided by or under this Act;

c) "consumer" means any person who, -

 buys any goods for a consideration which has been paid or promised or partly paid and
partly promised, or under any system of deferred payment and includes any user of such
goods other than the person who buys such goods for consideration paid or promised or
partly paid or partly promised, or under any system of deferred payment when such use is
made with the approval of such person, but does not include a person who obtains such
goods for resale or for any commercial purpose; or
 hires or avails of any services for a consideration which has been paid or promised or
partly paid and partly promised, or under any system of deferred payment and includes
any beneficiary of such services other than the person who hires or avails of the services
for consideration paid or promised, or partly paid and partly promised, or under any
system of deferred payment, when such services are availed of with the approval of the
first mentioned person;
 Explanation: For the purposes of sub-clause (I), "commercial purpose" does not include
use by a consumer of goods bought and used by him exclusively for the purpose of
earning his livelihood, by means of self-employment;

d) "consumer dispute" means a dispute where the person against whom a complaint has
been made, denies or disputes the allegations contained in the complaint;

e) "defect" means any fault, imperfection or shortcoming in the quality, quantity, potency,
purity or standard which is required to be maintained by or under any law for the time
being in force or under any contract, express or implied, or as is claimed by the trader in
any manner whatsoever in relation to any goods;

f) "deficiency" means any fault, imperfection, shortcoming or inadequacy in the quality,

nature and manner of performance which is required to be maintained by or under any
law for the time being in force or has been undertaken to be performed by a person in
pursuance of a contract or otherwise in relation to any service;

g) “District Forum" means a Consumer Disputes Redressed Forum established under clause
(a) of section 9;

h) "goods" means goods as defined in the Sale of Goods Act, 1930 (3 of 1930);

i) "manufacturer" means a person who -

 makes or manufactures any goods or parts thereof; or
 does not make or manufacture any goods but assembles parts thereof made or
manufactured by others and claims the end-product to be goods manufactured by himself;
or
 puts or causes to be put his own mark on any goods made or manufactured by any other
manufacturer and claims such goods to be goods made or manufactured by himself.
 Explanation : Where a manufacturer dispatches any goods or part thereof to any branch
office maintained by him, such branch office shall not be deemed to be the manufacturer
even though the parts so dispatched to it are assembled at such branch office and are sold
or distributed from such branch office;

j) "National Commission" means the National Consumer Disputes Redressed Commission

established under clause (c) of section 9;
k) "State Commission" means a Consumer Disputes Redressed Commission established in a
State under clause (b) of section 9;

l) "service" means service of any description which is made available to potential users and
includes the provision of facilities in connection with banking, financing, insurance,
transport, processing, supply of electrical or other energy, board or lodging or both,
housing construction, entertainment, amusement or the purveying of news or other
information, but does not include the rendering of any service free of charge or under a
contract of personal service;
m) trader" in relation to any goods means a person who sells or distributes any goods for sale
and includes the manufacturer thereof, and where such goods are sold or distributed in
package form, includes the packer thereof;

n) "unfair trade practice" means a trade practice which, for the purpose of promoting the
sale, use or supply of any goods or for the provision of any service, adopts any unfair
method or unfair or deceptive practice.

 the practice of making any statement, whether orally or in writing or by visible

representation which,—
1) falsely represents that the goods are of a particular standard, quality, quantity, grade,
composition, style or model;
2) falsely represents that the services are of a particular standard, quality or grade;
3) falsely represents any re-built, second-hand, renovated, reconditioned or old goods as
new goods;
4) represents that the goods or services have sponsorship, approval, performance,
characteristics, accessories, uses or benefits which such goods or services do not have;
5) represents that the seller or the supplier has a sponsorship or approval or affiliation which
such seller or supplier does not have;
 6) makes a false or misleading representation concerning the need for, or the usefulness of,
any goods or services;
7) gives to the public any warranty or guarantee of the performance, efficacy or length of
life of a product or of any goods that is not based on an adequate or proper test thereof;
i) Provided that where a defence is raised to the effect that such warranty or guarantee is
based on adequate or proper test, the burden of proof of such defence shall lie on the
person raising such defence;
8) makes to the public a representation in a form that purports to be—
i) a warranty or guarantee of a product or of any goods or services; or
ii) a promise to replace, maintain or repair an article or any part thereof or to repeat or
continue a service until it has achieved a specified result, if such purported warranty
or guarantee or promise is materially misleading or if there is no reasonable prospect
that such warranty, guarantee or promise will be carried out;
9) materially misleads the public concerning the price at which a product or like products or
goods or services, have been or are, ordinarily sold or provided, and, for this purpose, a
representation as to price shall be deemed to refer to the price at which the product or
goods or services has or have been sold by sellers or provided by suppliers generally in
the relevant market unless it is clearly specified to be the price at which the product has
been sold or services have been provided by the person by whom or on whose behalf the
representation is made;
10) gives false or misleading facts disparaging the goods, services or trade of another person.
Explanation - For the purposes of clause (1), a statement that is—
i. expressed on an article offered or displayed for sale, or on its wrapper or container; or
ii. expressed on anything attached to, inserted in, or accompanying, an article offered or
displayed for sale, or on anything on which the article is mounted for display or sale;
or
iii. contained in or on anything that is sold, sent, delivered, transmitted or in any other
manner whatsoever made available to a member of the public,

shall be deemed to be a statement made to the public by, and only by, the person who had caused
the statement to be so expressed, made or contained;

 permits the publication of any advertisement whether in any newspaper or otherwise, for the
sale or supply at a bargain price, of goods or services that are not intended to be offered for
sale or supply at the bargain price, or for a period that is, and in quantities that are,
reasonable, having regard to the nature of the market in which the business is carried on, the
nature and size of business, and the nature of the advertisement.

Explanation:-For the purpose of clause (2), "bargaining price" means—

 1) a price that is stated in any advertisement to be a bargain price, by reference to an
ordinary price or otherwise, or
2) a price that a person who reads, hears or sees the advertisement, would reasonably
understand to be a bargain price having regard to the prices at which the product
advertised or like products are ordinarily sold;

 permits—
1) the offering of gifts, prizes or other items with the intention of not providing them as
offered or creating impression that something is being given or offered free of charge
when it is fully or partly covered by the amount charged in the transaction as a whole;
2) the conduct of any contest, lottery, game of chance or skill, for the purpose of promoting,
directly or indirectly, the sale, use or supply of any product or any business interest;

CONSUMER PROTECTION COUNCIL

The Central Consumer Protection council

Establishment: The Central Government shall, by notification, establish with effect from such
date as it may specify in such notification, a Council to be known as the Central Consumer
Protection Council (hereinafter referred to as the Central Council).

Procedure for meetings of the Central Council:

1) The Central Council shall meet as and when necessary, but at least one meeting of the
Council shall be held every year.
2) The Central Council shall meet at such time and place as the Chairman may think fit and
shall observe such procedure in regard to the transaction of its business as may be
prescribed.

Membership:

1) the Minister in charge of the consumer affairs in the Central Government, shall be its
Chairman, and
2) Such number of other official or non-official members representing such interests as may
be prescribed.

The Central Council should consist of 150 members:

 The Minister in charge of Consumer Affairs in the Central Government

 The Minister of State or Deputy Minister
 8 Member of Parliament
 5 from Lok Sabha
 3from Rajya Sabha
 Representative of women- not less than 10
 Representative of farmers, trade and industries - not more than 20
 Representative of consumer organization or consumer - not less than 35
 Person capable of representing consumer interest not specified above- not exceeding 20

Objects of the Central Council: The objects of the Central Council shall be to promote and
protect the rights of the consumers such as,— 
 the right to be protected against the marketing of goods and services which are hazardous to
life and property;
 the right to be informed about the quality, quantity, potency, purity, standard and price of
goods or services, as the case may be so as to protect the consumer against unfair trade
practices;
 the right to be assured, wherever possible, access to a variety of goods and services at
competitive prices;
 the right to be heard and to be assured that consumer's interests will receive due
consideration at appropriate forums;
 the right to seek redressal against unfair trade practices or restrictive trade practices or
unscrupulous exploitation of consumers; and
 the right to consumer education.

The State Consumer Protection Councils

Membership: The State Council shall consist of the following members, namely:—

 the Minister in charge of consumer affairs in the State Government who shall be its
Chairman;
 such number of other official or non-official members representing such interests as may be
prescribed by the State Government.
 such number of other official or non-official members, not exceeding ten, as may be
nominated by the Central Government.

Meetings: The State Council shall meet as and when necessary but not less than two meetings
shall be held every year.

Time and Place of meetings and Procedure: The State Council shall meet at such time and
place as the Chairman may think fit and shall observe such procedure in regard to the transaction
of its business as may be prescribed by the State Government.

Objects of the State Council — the objects of every State Council shall be to promote and
protect within the State the rights of the consumers laid down in clauses (a) to (f) of section 6.
The District Consumer Protection Council

 The State Government shall establish for every district, by notification, a council to be
known as the District Consumer Protection Council with effect from such date as it may
specify in such notification.
 The District Consumer Protection Council (hereinafter referred to as the District Council)
shall consist of the following members, namely:—
a) the Collector of the district (by whatever name called), who shall be its Chairman; and
b) such number of other official and non-official members representing such interests as
may be prescribed by the State Government.
 The District Council shall meet as and when necessary but not less than two meetings shall
be held every year.
 The District Council shall meet at such time and place within the district as the Chairman
may think fit and shall observe such procedure in regard to the transaction of its business as
may be prescribed by the State Government.

OBJECTS: The objects of every District Council shall be to promote and protect within the
district the rights of the consumers

Manner in which complaint shall be made:

A complaint in relation to any goods sold or delivered or agreed to be sold or delivered or any
service provided or agreed to be provided may be filed with a District Forum by

 the consumer to whom such goods are sold or delivered or agreed to be sold or delivered or
such service provided or agreed to be provided;
 any recognized consumer association whether the consumer to whom the goods sold or
delivered or agreed to be sold or delivered or service provided or agreed to be provided is a
member of such association or not;
 one or more consumers, where there are numerous consumers having the same interest, with
the permission of the District Forum, on behalf of, or for the benefit of, all consumers so
interested; or
 the Central Government or the State Government, as the case may be, either in its individual
capacity or as a representative of interests of the consumers in general.

Procedure on admission of complaint

 refer a copy of the admitted complaint, within twenty-one days from the date of its admission
to the opposite party mentioned in the complaint directing him to give his version of the case
within a period of thirty days or such extended period not exceeding fifteen days as may be
granted by the District Forum;
 where the opposite party on receipt of a complaint referred to him under clause (a) denies or
disputes the allegations contained in the complaint, or omits or fails to take any action to
 represent his case within the time given by the District Forum, the District Forum shall
proceed to settle the consumer dispute in the manner specified in clauses (c) to (g);
 where the complaint alleges a defect in the goods which cannot be determined without proper
analysis or test of the goods, the District Forum shall obtain a sample of the goods from the
complainant, seal it and authenticate it in the manner prescribed and refer the sample so
sealed to the appropriate laboratory along with a direction that such laboratory make an
analysis or test, whichever may be necessary, with a view to finding out whether such goods
suffer from any defect alleged in the complaint or from any other defect and to report its
findings thereon to the District Forum within a period of forty-five days of the receipt of the
reference or within such extended period as may be granted by the District Forum;
 before any sample of the goods is referred to any appropriate laboratory under clause (c), the
District Forum may require the complainant to deposit to the credit of the Forum such fees as
may be specified, for payment to the appropriate laboratory for carrying out the necessary
analysis or test in relation to the goods in question;
 the District Forum shall remit the amount deposited to its credit under clause (d) to the
appropriate laboratory to enable it to carry out the analysis or test mentioned in clause (c) and
on receipt of the report from the appropriate laboratory, the District Forum shall forward a
copy of the report along with such remarks as the District Forum may feel appropriate to the
opposite party;
 if any of the parties disputes the correctness of the findings of the appropriate laboratory, or
disputes the correctness of the methods of analysis or test adopted by the appropriate
laboratory, the District Forum shall require the opposite party or the complainant to submit in
writing his objections in regard to the report made by the appropriate laboratory;
 the District Forum shall thereafter give a reasonable opportunity to the complainant as well
as the opposite party of being heard as to the correctness or otherwise of the report made by
the appropriate laboratory and also as to the objection made in relation thereto under clause
(/) and issue an appropriate order under section 14.

Complaint relating to services, reference of claim to opposite party: It shall refer a copy of such
complaint to the opposite party directing him to give his version of the case within a period of
thirty days or such extended period not exceeding fifteen days as may be granted by the District
Forum.