Central Consumer Protection Authority

The Central Consumer Protection Authority was established to maintain moral corporate practices and protect consumer rights. Deceptive and fraudulent advertising that may hurt customers is also monitored by the competent authorities in order to maintain public interest in the goods or services. The Central Consumer Protection Authority was formed by the government authority in compliance with Section 10(1) of "The Consumer Protection Act, 2019," according to the statement "Central Consumer Protection Authority." The Central Consumer Protection Authority, which is also responsible for supervising the selling, storage, and distribution processes, is said to have been founded largely to regulate the manufacture of goods.

Central Consumer Protection Authority

According to the "Central Consumer Protection Authority," maintaining the quality of food as well as other goods and services is a major reason for creating the agency. The responsible entity is also responsible for taking specific action in the event of harmful, hazardous, or unhealthy food items, as well as other products and services. According to the central government's directives, the related entity is operated. The "Union Ministry of Consumer Affairs" recently announced that the CCPA's powers would be expanded, and the organisation will now be allowed to suggest new legislation to the parliamentary body. According to "The Wireless Telegraphy Act," selling dangerous food goods and deceiving clients with deceptive marketing is unlawful, and the "Central Consumer Protection Authority" can take legal action such as fines and imprisonment in cases of consumer rights violations.

Objectives of the Central Consumer Protection Authority

Major objectives of the central consumer protection authority are −

• To promote, protect, and enforce consumer rights as a class.

• To investigate and file complaints about violations of consumer rights.

• To mandate the recall of dangerous goods and services, as well as the cessation of unfair commercial practices and deceptive advertising.

• To penalize producers, endorsers, and publishers of deceptive ads.

Composition of the Central Consumer Protection Authority

The CCPA consists of the following members, appointed by the central government −

• Chief Commissioner

• Two Commissioners

• One commissioner will represent goods and services.

Powers of the Central Consumer Protection Authority

Major powers of the central consumer protection authority are −

• The "Central Consumer Protection Authority" is in charge of investigating and investing in the product production and selling processes. The organisations also maintain fair trade transactions and deal with customer concerns.

• The Central Consumer Protection Authority's powers emphasise that the organisation maintains a risky, hazardous, and unsafe mechanism of withdrawing products or services.

• The "National Consumer Disputes Redressal Commission" comprises district, state, and regional divisions to handle consumer rights violations and complaints concerning consumers and traders.

• In addition, the "Central Consumer Protection Authority" informs customers and issues frequent alerts to identify dangerous and risky items or services.

Structure of the Central Consumer Protection Authority

The planned authority, according to sources, would include a head commissioner and just two other commissioners, one of whom would handle concerns relating to products and the other would handle matters linked to services. Although it will have its national headquarters in Delhi, the federal government is free to establish regional offices wherever it wishes throughout the nation.

A director general will oversee the investigation division of the Central Consumer Protection Authority (CCPA). Additionally, district collectors will have the authority to look into consumer rights violations, unfair business practises, and deceptive or false advertising complaints.

What will the Central Consumer Protection Authority (CCPA) do if any goods or services are found not meeting these standards?

Under Section 20 of the Consumer Protection Act, the proposed authority shall have powers to recall goods or services that are "dangerous or unsafe; to refund the prices of the recalled goods or services to the buyers of such goods or services; and to stop practices that are unfair and prejudicial to the interest of the consumer."

For fraudulent or misleading advertising, the CCPA may fine a manufacturer or endorser up to Rs 10 lakh and/or sentence them to up to two years in prison. A further offence may result in a fine of up to Rs 50 lakh and imprisonment for up to five years. A false advertisement's endorser may also be barred from promoting that specific item or service for a term of up to a year under the CCPA. The period of restriction may be extended to three years for each consecutive offence. However, there are several circumstances in which an endorser won't be responsible for such a fine.

Penalties

• If the customer is not harmed, a fine of up to 1 lakh rupees and a jail sentence of up to 6 months may be imposed.

• Punishment for injury includes a fine of up to Rs. 3 lakh and a year in jail.

• If there is a serious injury, the maximum fine is Rs. 5 lakh and the maximum sentence is 7 years.

• If there is a death, there will be a fine of Rs. 10 lakh or more, as well as a minimum sentence of 7 years and a maximum sentence of life in prison.

How will it deal with false or misleading advertising?

Section 21 of the new Act explains the authorities granted to the CCPA to combat fraudulent or misleading ads.

The CCPA has the authority to request an inquiry if any advertising is untrue or deceptive, damaging to the interests of any consumer, or violates consumer rights.

In the event that it is not satisfied, the CCPA may require the trader, manufacturer, supporter, advertiser, or publisher to stop running the advertising or amend it in the way requested by the authority within a certain period of time.

Penalties

• The authorities may also levy a fine of up to Rs 10 lakh and jail the maker or endorser of fraudulent and misleading ads for up to two years.

• For any subsequent offence, the producer or endorser might face a fine of up to Rs 50 lakh and a five-year jail sentence.

• The CCPA has the authority to impose a one-year ban on the ability of the endorser of deceptive or fraudulent advertising to endorse any goods or services in the future.

• For any further Act infringement, the prohibition might be increased by up to three years.

Conclusion

According to the "Central Consumer Protection Authority," the group is in charge of handling consumer complaints and dealing with infringements of consumer rights. Another role of the organisation is the import and export mechanism. It may be claimed "regarding the Central Consumer Protection Authority" that the authority establishes penalties in some circumstances, such as if harm is not caused to consumers, it can be fined up to ten thousand rupees and imprisoned for up to six months. Customers may be fined up to 500000 rupees and imprisoned for up to seven years if they inflict severe harm.

FAQs

Q1. What is the principal purpose of the "central consumer protection authority"?

Ans. The "Central Consumer Protection Authority's" principal purpose is to oversee the trading process and to guarantee a fair trade system inside the country's borders. Aside from that, the agency is in charge of keeping the import and export systems fair under the supervision of national and international trade activities. This institution is also responsible for maintaining fair economic ties with foreign countries.

Q2. Who is the head of the Central Consumer Protection Authority?

Ans. Nidhi Khare is the current Chief Commissioner of the Central Consumer Protection Authority.

Q3. What is the impact of the Consumer Protection Act of 2019 on the "Central Consumer Protection Authority"?

Ans. The "Central Consumer Protection Authority" was founded under the guidelines of "The Consumer Protection Act, 2019." The legislation known as "The Consumer Protection Statute, 1986" was the inspiration for this act. The "Central Consumer Protection Authority" is also in charge of upholding the "Code of Criminal Procedure, 1973" regulations.