107. Repeal and savings.—(1) The Consumer Protection Act, 1986 (68 of 1986) is hereby repealed.
(2) Notwithstanding such repeal, anything done or any action taken or purported to have been done or taken under the Act hereby repealed shall, in so far as it is not inconsistent with the provisions of this Act, be deemed to have been done or taken under the corresponding provisions of this Act.
(3) The mention of particular matters in sub -section (2) shall not be held to prejudice or affect the general application of section 6 of the General Clauses Act, 1897 (10 of 1897) with regard to the effect of repeal. STATEMENT OF OBJECTS AND REASONS The Consumer Protection Act, 1986 (68 of 1986) was enacted to provide for better protection of the interests of consumers and for the purpose of making provision for establishment of consumer protection councils and other authorities for the settlement of consumer disputes, etc. Although, the working of the consumer dispute redressal agencies has served the purpose to a considerable extent under the said Act, the disposal of cases has not been fast due to various constraints. Several shortcomings have been noticed while administering the various provisions of the said Act.
2. Consumer markets for goods and services have undergone drastic transformation since the enactment of the Consumer Protection Act in 1986. The modern market place contains a plethora of products and services. The emergence of global supply chains, rise in international trade and the rapid development of e-commerce have led to new delivery systems for goods and services and have provided new options and opportunities for consumers. Equally, this has rendered the consumer vulnerable to new forms of unfair t rade and unethical business practices. Misleading advertisements, tele -marketing, multi-level marketing, direct selling and e -commerce pose new challenges to consumer protection and will require appropriate and swift executive interventions to prevent consumer detriment. Therefore, it has become inevitable to amend the Act to address the myriad and constantly emerging vulnerabilities of the consumers. In view of this, it is proposed to repeal and reenact the Act.
3. Accordingly, a Bill, namely, the Consumer Protection Bill, 2018, was introduced in Lok Sabha on the 5th January, 2018 and was passed by that House on the 20th December, 2018. While the Bill was pending consideration in Rajya Sabha, the Sixteenth Lok Sabha was dissolved and the Bill got lapsed. Hence, the present Bill, namely, the Consumer Protection Bill, 2019.
4. The proposed Bill provides for the establishment of an executive agency to be known as the Central Consumer Protection Authority (CCPA) to promote, protect and enforce the rights of consumers; make interventions when necessary to prevent consumer detriment arising from unfair trade practices and to initiate class action including enforcing recall, refund and return of products, etc. This fills an institutional void in the regulatory regime extant. Currently, the task of prevention of or acting against unfair trade practices is not vested in any authority. This has been provided for in a manner that the role envisaged for the CCPA complements that of the sector regulators and duplication, overlap or potential conflict is avoided.
5. The Bill also envisages provisions for product liability action on account of harm caused to consumers due to a defective product or by deficiency in services. Further, provision of “Mediation” as an Alternate Dispute Resolution Mechanism has also been provided.
6. The Bill provides for several provisions aimed at simplifying the consumer dispute adjudication process of the Consumer Disputes Redressal Agencies, inter alia, relating to enhancing the pecuniary jurisdiction of the Consumer Disputes Redressal Agencies; increasing minimum number of Members in the State Consumer Disputes Redressal Commissions and provisions for consumers to file complaints electronically, etc.
7. The Bill seeks to achieve the above objectives. RAM VILAS PASWAN. NEW DELHI; The 2nd July, 2019.