The Punjab Food, Civil Supplies & Consumer Affairs Department officials today vowed to start a state-wide awareness campaign on Consumer Protection Act 2019 and said that it would be the biggest awareness campaign in entire country. Punjab Food, Civil Supplies & Consumer Affairs Minister Mr Bharat Bhushan Ashu also said that a massive awareness drive to educate the masses, right till village level, about the Consumer Protection Act 2019 would be started soon, and it would benefit a large number of people.On the occasion of National Consumer Day, a state-level function on the Consumer Protection Act 2019 was organised at Dr Manmohan Singh Auditorium of Punjab Agricultural University, here today. Cabinet Minister Mr Bharat Bhushan Ashu was the Chief Guest on the occasion, while Principal Secretary of Punjab Food, Civil Supplies & Consumer Affairs Department Mr KAP Sinha and Director of Punjab Food, Civil Supplies & Consumer Affairs Department Mrs Anindita Mitra were the guests of honour.While speaking on the occasion, Mr Bharat Bhushan Ashu said that a society can get strengthened only if the rights of its consumers are strengthened. He said that the new Consumer Protection Act 2019 has been enacted with emphasis on safeguarding the rights of consumers in a much effective manner. He said that the new Act would provide safeguards to the consumers against various types of exploitation like defective goods, deficiency in services and unfair trade practices. He also stressed on the need to create awareness about this act so that the consumers are empowered.He said that under the new Consumer Protection Act 2019, there will be penalties for misleading advertisements on a manufacturer or an endorser and for that Central Consumer Protection Authority (CCPA) would impose penalties of up to Rs 10 lakh and imprisonment for up to two years. In case of a subsequent offence, the fine may be extended to Rs 50 lakh and five years imprisonment. For the period of up to one year, CCPA can also prohibit the endorser of a misleading advertisement from endorsing that particular product or service.He said that in the Consumer Protection Act 1986, there was no separate regulator, the complaint could be filed in a consumer court where the seller’s (defendant) office was located, there was no provision of product liability and the consumer could have approached a civil court but not consumer court, the pecuniary jurisdiction of the district was up to Rs 20 lakh, of the state between Rs 20 lakh to Rs 1 crore and of national level for above Rs 1 crore. There was no provision for e-commerce and there was no legal provision of mediation cells.
Whereas the Consumer Protection Act of 2019 will have a CCPA as a regulator, the complaint can be filed in a consumer court where the complainant resides of works, the consumer can seek compensation for harm caused by a product or service, the district, state and national level, Consumer Disputes Redressal Commissions (CDRCs) will be set up. The complaints will be entertained by the District CDRC where the value of goods and services does not exceed Rs 1 crore. The State CDRC will see to the complaints when the value is between Rs 1 crore-Rs 10 core and National CDRC will see the complaints with the value of goods and services over Rs 10 crore. All rules of direct selling have been extended to e-commerce, while the court can now refer settlement through mediation.“Therefore, we can say that the new Act of 2019 will tighten the existing rules to further safeguard the rights of the consumers including the introduction of a central regulator, strict penalties for misleading advertisements, guidelines for e-commerce and electronic service providers, etc,” he said, while adding that even the Legal Metrology wing of the department would also be strengthened.Mr KAP Sinha said that under new act, if a consumer is not satisfied with any product, he can file a case in his own city, even though the product was purchased from some other city/state. He said that the consumer would not also have to hire a lawyer to fight his case and the case would be decided in maximum 3 months time. He informed that now the consumers can also file their cases by sending all documents by post. He also appreciated the speakers about highlighting some deficiencies in working of their department and assured that they would be taken care of at the earliest.During the function, Mr Inderjit Singh Sodhi, Chief Advisor, Akhil Bharatiya Gram Panchayat Punjab spoke about the highlights of new Consumer Protection Act 2019, a presentation on the functions and activities of Legal Metrology wing, Mr SB Pandhi spoke on the achievements of consumer organisations in Punjab, Mr OP Garg gave suggestions on Consumer Protection Act and Mr GK Dhir, President, Ludhiana Consumer Disputes Redressal Forum spoke about various legal aspects of the Act. Several cultural items educating the audience about the Consumer Protection Act were also staged. Winners of several competitions organised by the Punjab Food, Civil Supplies & Consumer Affairs Department were also honoured on the occasion.Prominent among those present on the occasion included MLA Mr Sanjay Talwar, PAU Vice Chancellor Dr Baldev Singh Dhillon, Mayor Mr Balkar Singh Sandhu, Ludhiana Improvement Trust Chairman Mr Raman Balasubramaniam, MC Councillor Mrs Mamta Ashu, Mrs Rashi Aggarwal, District Congress Committee (Urban) President Mr Ashwani Sharma, ADC (General) Mr Iqbal Singh Sandhu, Deputy Director Punjab Food, Civil Supplies & Consumer Affairs Department Miss Sona Thind, DFSCs Mrs Geeta Bishambu and Mr Sukhwinder Singh Gill, besides several others.