BACKGROUND

The Industrial Revolution and the development of international trade and commerce have led to the vast
expansion of business and trade. As a result, a wide range of consumer goods and services have become
available to meet the needs of consumers. This affected the relationship between the traders and the
consumers making the principle of consumer sovereignty almost inapplicable. The advertisements of
goods and services influence the demand for the same by the consumers though there may be defects
or shortcomings with the product or service. To ensure public welfare, the glut of adulterated and sub-
standard articles in the market to be checked various provisions were formed to provide relief to
consumers yet it became necessary to protect the consumers from exploitation and to save them from
adulterated and sub-standard goods and services and to safeguard the interests of the consumers.
Keeping this in consideration the Consumer Protection Bill, of 1986 was introduced and the Act was
passed in Assembly in October 1986 and came into force on December 24, 1986, and referred to as
COPRA Act 1986. Later it was replaced by The Consumer Protection Act, of 2019. The Act focuses on
giving more power by taking transparency to another level.

INTRODUCTION

CONCEPT OF CONSUMER

The Consumer Protection Act defines the term consumer through 'goods' and 'services". According to
Section 2 (1)(d) of The Consumer Protection Act, 1986 'Consumer' means any person who:

1. 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

2. [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 [but does
not include a person who avails of such services for a commercial purpose].

Consumer Buying Process

The buying process plays an important role in consumer's actual buying decisions. Smart companies try
to fully understand consumers' buying decision-making process and the experiences in learning,
choosing, using, and even disposing of a product. It answers various questions that each company
should know such as, who buys the product or service, who makes the decision to buy and who are the
influencers, why the consumers buy a particular brand, how is the product perceived by the customers,
what social factors influence the purchase decision, how does the demographic, personal,
psychographic or economic factors influence the purchase decision. The buying process consists of five
stages which are:

1. Need Recognition

2. Information Search

3. Evaluation of alternatives
4. Purchase Decision

5. Post-purchase behaviour

A brief description of the consumer buying process is as follows:

1. Need Recognition: The buying process starts with need recognition when the buyer recognizes a
problem or need. The need can be triggered by internal stimuli when one of the person's normal needs
such as hunger, and thirst drives him to buy some product or service. A need can also be triggered by
external stimuli such as an advertisement or a discussion with a friend. The greater the discrepancy
between unsatisfied need and actual need the greater would be the need recognition. At this stage, the
marketers should research to find out what triggers consumers' interest. For products such as luxury
goods, vacation packages, and entertainment options consumer motivation research is being used to
find out potential prospects of the product.

2. Information Search: Research says that consumers often search for limited information. For a
durable purchase, half of the consumers visit only one store and only 30 percent look for more than one
brand of appliances. An aroused consumer is inclined to search for more information. The search can
be at a milder level or an active level. An active search involves collecting information from print,
television, radio, visiting stores, and collecting reading material, friends, etc.

3. Evaluation of Alternatives: The consumer at this stage has to choose amongst the alternative brands.
No single process is used by all consumers or by one consumer in all situations. The consumer arrives
at attitudes towards different brands through some evaluation criteria. The consumer evaluation process
may vary from individual consumers and buying situations. He may make use of careful thinking and
logic in certain cases. For example, if he has narrowed his choices to two brands as mentioned in point
2 to purchase a television, and what he is looking at are certain attributes such as picture quality,
warranty, price and features, and sales promotion schemes. By this time the consumer forms beliefs
about how each brand rates on each attribute. Most buyers consider several attributes before purchasing
a product. Consumers pay the most attention to attributes that deliver the sought-after benefits. The
market for a product can be segmented according to attributes that are important to different consumer
groups.

4. Purchase Decision: The consumer may form an intention to buy the most preferred brand. In
executing a purchase intention the consumer may make five decisions:

Brand Decision(Buying Apple or Lenovo) or (Buying LG or Samsung)

Dealer decision (Dealer A or B)

Quantity (one Laptop) or (One TV)

Timing (Weekend)

Payment Method (credit card or cash or installments)

Generally, the consumer's purchase decision involves buying the most preferred brand but two factors
can come between the purchase intention and the purchase decision. The first factor is the attitude of
others. A person's attitude towards a particular brand depends on:

1. The intensity of the other person's negative attitude towards the consumer's preferred alternative

2. The consumer's motivation to comply with the other person's wishes.

The second factor is the unanticipated situational factors that may change the purchase intention. For
example, losing a job, a Drop in price by a competitor brand, some other purchase might become
important, or a retail salesperson may not attend to the customer properly.

5. Post-Purchase Behaviour: The marketer's job does not end when the product is bought. After
purchasing the product, the consumer will be satisfied or dissatisfied with it and will engage in post-
purchase behavior of interest to the marketer. There are three possible post-purchase outcomes:

(a) Customer Satisfaction

(b) Post-purchase Cognitive Dissonance

(o) Post-purchase loyalty

Consumer Satisfaction: The factor that determines whether the buyer is satisfied or dissatisfied with a
purchase is the relationship between the consumer's expectations and the product's perceived
performance. If the product falls short of expectations, the consumer is disappointed, if it meets
expectations, the consumer is satisfied and if it exceeds expectations the consumer is delighted. The
larger the gap between the expectations and performance, the greater the consumer's dissatisfaction and
the potential for negative word of mouth. Marketers can take several steps to ensure post-purchase
satisfaction:

Building realistic expectations, not too high and not too low.

Demonstrating correct product use.

Standing behind the product or service by providing money-back guarantees and warranties.

Encouraging consumer feedback, which cuts down on negative word of mouth and marketers adjust
their offerings. Periodically make contact with customers and thank them for their support.

Post-purchase Cognitive Dissonance: Almost all purchases result in cognitive dissonance which is a
psychological disturbance in the minds of the consumers after purchasing a product. It is an internal
conflict that arises from inconsistency between two beliefs or between beliefs and behavior. For
example, after purchasing an expensive television consumers may question whether the high-price
version offers appreciably better quality than a set of similar size but at a lower price TV or whether
one needs a television at all. Post-purchase cognitive dissonance generally occurs when a consumer
questions the appropriateness of a purchase after his or her decision has been made.

Concept of consumer

Customers refer to people or organisations that buy goods and services. Austerity measures also involve
outsourcing of goods and services. They are the final users of goods or services who are individual
humans or economic entities. In addition to this, they do not sell-out the pre-owned product on which
one has spent money.

They are those who are at the tail end of the distribution chain of commodities and services.
Surprisingly, it is possible that the consumer is not the user.

Under section 2(7) of Consumer Protection Act, 2019, "consumer" means any person who".

(i) who in order to buy any goods pays or promises or partly pays and partly promises or deals under a
deferred system of payment or who in any other form of payment makes a use of such goods other than
the person who buys these goods gives a promise of money or partly pays in the form of a promise of
money or in any kind of a deferred system of payment, but excluding a person who buys these goods
for commercial purpose.

(ii)includes the person who accepts or does the work in return for money paid or promised, or partly
paid and partly promised, or under any kind deferred payment, or other beneficiary than the person who
hires the worker, unless the later allows his beneficiary to have the services; but it does not mean the
person who employs any service for a commercial purpose.

Example: I buy a car for my friend so, I am the customer and my friend who use that car is a consumer

Customer buying process

The consumer decision-making process, also referred to as the consumer buying process, is a process
by which consumers participate in an exchange of certain goods and services. It a trek a consumer
follows while making buying decisions.

5 steps of the buying process from a customer's perspective

1. Problem recognition

Problem identifying is commonly regarded as the first and most challenging phase of customer buying
process. You can’t get through this purchasing process without identifying a problem or a need. Who
knows, maybe somebody fills the vacuum in his/her life caused either internally or externally, it might
be starvation and thirst (e.g. through advertising, word of mouth, etc.).

2. Information search

Having defined a problem or need, a customer will then go through identifying which solution they
believe to be the best way for them to proceed.

The market prospect looks on the internal and the external environments of the company to reach and
determine the relevant information sources that lead to the ultimate buying decision. Your customer can
get the information form written or visual media or from online or word of mouth sources.

3. Evaluation of alternatives

Users will proceed to assess range of alternative products by paying attention to various substitute
product attributes. With this stage, the customer’s attitude plays an important role. Another aspect
affecting the evaluation process is experiencing.

For example, when customer’s preferences are in a positive sense, they would start evaluating several
companies or brands. One company or brand out of multiple can be evaluated if the impacts are
negative. In the customer’s journey you can use the emotional tracking of your customer.

4. Purchase decision

During the 5 stages of customer buying process, there comes a point at which the buying decision is
made. The customer has several choices considered, knows about the cost and payment, and already
determining whether to buy the product. Maybe, they can do so as well at present.
At this stage of the pandemic, the customers need to feel secure. Also, they had to be reminded back
the problems that had led them here in the fact.

And if a customer decides to go away, this is definitely the most appealing time to get them back. So if
your business is all about it then this could take a simple form of.

"Hey! Have you heard about our fashion design honey?"

Now, the client has already decided to purchase from you, so you need to make the process simple for
them. Your software for handling payments will slow down and they will go to the competitor.

5. Post-purchase evaluation

The final stage in the customer buying process is buyers comparing products with their expectations.
Then either products meet their expectations or they do not. Thus, these steps are critical for customer
retention also.

It can influence the information search and alternative evaluation stages for the next purchasing process
from the same company. The off chance is that customers are satisfied with your brand prompting them
to be loyal in the long run. In this case, they will always skip the information search and evaluation of
alternatives stages.

Customers will leave a product review having been either satisfied or dissatisfied. Companies should
put more energy into how they craft post purchase communication to increase participation and promote
efficiency. These can be likes of websites, social media, and reviews.

Example: Let’s say I want a car

Step 1: Problem Recognition : I need a car to go to my office because using taxi service daily is more
expensive than owning a personal car. So, this is a need recognition that I need a car to travel to the
office daily

Step 2 : Information search: After recognizing the need of a car the next step is to search the information
about the car. What type of car is suitable for me: a sedan or a SUV car, the petrol variant or a diesel
variant and the brands available in the market.

Step 3: Evaluation of alternatives : After searching the information about the cars available in the
market, now the next step is to evaluate the alternatives available in the market.

Step 4: Post purchase Decision: After evaluating all available alternatives the next step is to finalise the
car that I want to buy. Let's say I make a final decision to buy a Toyota Fortuner and after making the
decision buy that car.

Step 5: Post purchase evaluation: After purchasing the car, what experience I had from that car comes
into post purchase experience, the question comes in this step is am I satisfied with my car or not?
And the dealership experience is good or bad if I feel all good or there is some need of improvement I
may write a feedback to the company itself.

Factors Affecting voicing of Consumer Grievances

There are so many factors that affected the complaint, among them, the quality of product or service
and the negative attitude of consumers.These factors are as follows:
 1. Significance of Consumption

If the product is crucial then its price will be high, and often the hidden cost will be charged on the
consumer. Normally, it is purchased as a special occasion gifts, for example, marriage or any other
consumer durable, later it is being complained for redressal owing to dissatisfaction of the consumers.

2. Knowledge and Experience:

An individual with knowledge concerning what is generally sold, the feelings that he as a consumer and
the experience of feeling dissatisfaction in the past is more likely to complain.

3. Difficulty of Seeking Redressal:

The complaint amounts not only to time and costs but also to the trouble of routine. So it appears there
are also those of the consumers who are unhappy and keep to themselves but they do not complain.

4. Probability of Success in Complaining:

When a consumer is convinced that the marketer is ready to listen and act upon his complaint, then, he
is more willing to voice out consumer complaints truthfully and sincerely. The number of complaints
is increasing in which it would not completely be due to the higher levels or dissatisfaction .

Consumer Response to Dissatisfaction:

1. Take No Action:

The proportion of consumers who just fume at the customer service are very large, who do not take any
action except stopping future shopping of the concerned product or service. However there is evidence
that the passing of the Consumer Protection Act in 1986 has resulted in the decreasing number of
consumers who do not act, with the increased awareness of their rights and the spread of education.
Hence in the future there could be even more decrease in consumers who will not act. However, today's
customer accounts for almost 90% of buyers, and rural customers often take no action other than to stop
the buying of that brand.

2. Discontinue Purchase of the Product or Service:

At the beginning of an unhappy downfall a customer acts towards discontinuing a brand which gave
him a bad impression. In India the issue was very limited as the competition did not exist in the market
before. A time when there were as many as three models of cars marked the market; the majority of
people could not afford those cars which resulted in dissatisfaction among them but there were no other
choices.

3. Complain to the Company:

The manufacturer or seller is called a back to void when a customer complains. This complaint is made
to address either dissatisfaction with the service or the product, ask for compensation, to plead for a
product exchange or money refunds or to intimate the company about the quality of the product service
of its distributors and retailers.
Some grievances could also be on services rendered in the retail outlet or the sales people, quality of
service of a bank or an airline etc. A lot of banks have a department that allows customers to share their
complaints and rectify them and take action against culpable banks' employees. The victim also is
informed of the decisions taken whether s/he is satisfied with the action, his/her trust will be restored.

There are some companies that acknowledges a complaint and besides treating a customer with a
compliment to make an in-house assessment so that they can avoid making the same mistake in future
and improve on the quality of their products.

4. Complaints to Consumer Court/Other Bodies:

In 1986 the Indian Government passed the Consumer Protection Act to provide security to the interests
of consumers. Consequently departmentalization, and under the Act much facilities are given to
consumers to go the consumer forum to complain. In most of the cases harsh punishment has been
imposed as a rule. These, in their turn, have a highly negative publicity, which shall be avoided.

Private Responses:

Complainers get excluded and are the biggest offenders of the negative publicity of the product or
service when they instead expose the problems through word of mouth communication to other
consumers. These indirect effects produce lots of negative results for sales. This is the type of private
responses which is done in a situation where the consumers complain severally in the absence of a
positive reaction by a company.

There private response of a product can be about quality, ignoring complaints, abandon replacement
warranty etc. Negative reviews can be devastating therefore marketers should have swift response to
negative complaints.

Conciliation and Mediation for Out of Court Redressal

The advances of conciliation and mediated communication for the out of court redressal.

Conciliation is an alternative out-of-court dispute resolution mechanism.

Similar to mediation, conciliation is a forward and interest based system. The parties will attempt in the
mediation process to settle the dispute amicably through the guidance of the conciliator, who acts as the
neutral member.

The main difference between the conciliation and mediation mechanisms is that at a certain level, the
conciliator will be notified by the parties to offer to the parties a non-binding settlement proposal. In
accord with that, a mediator will rarely or even never be partisan in choosing sides and thus suggest the
proposal.

Conciliation differs from arbitration and litigation because it is a voluntary process where the parties
have the right to agree and resolve their disputes. Unlike a formal court process, the procedure is
adaptable thus the parties can define the time, framework and content of the conciliation period.
Proceedings like this are usually not made public. They are interest based, because the third party will,
in addition to considering the parties’ legal positions, also take into the account also their commercial,
financial and / or personal interests.

Just as governed by the mediation process, the final decision to accept the settlement proposal lies with
the parties.
MARKETS

A market is defined as the sum total of all the buyers and sellers that come together and interact with
each other with a consideration. It is an exchange process where one party receives the goods or services
and the other party receives some consideration, usually money.

Marketing in general refers to the methods and activities used to promote an idea, product, or brand.
While there are various approaches in marketing, marketing efforts can typically be classified as either
online marketing or offline marketing.

An online marketplace is an e-commerce site that provides an online platform to both the sellers as well
as buyers. It’s often known as an electronic marketplace and all transactions are managed online.

Examples of online marketplaces include Amazon and eBay.

What are the benefits of an online marketplace?

Various benefits are enumerated as follows:

· It lowers down marketing costs.

· It permits enterprises to create the international dimension of their business.

· It creates transparency in products' range.

· This is a convenient tool to compare the prices amongst the competitors

· It enables your firm to become time-independent.

Nowadays, marketplace momentum is gaining a lot of speed. Whether this happened in 2020 globally
or not it is impossible to say for certain since analysts predicted that the share of worldwide
marketplaces in the global online retail market would have been 40% last year. 75% of marketing
experts in the U.S. suggest that to earn your revenue by selling online marketplaces, you should sell
your items in the same place where your customers also want to buy from.

Offline Marketing

Offline marketing is the practice of marketing and advertising through mediums that are not online.
These platforms can be radio, television or billboard just to mention a few. The companies can stand
out and strengthen their brand recognition by creating personalized messages, built on emotional values
and targeting a variety of audiences, in a more traditional offline-marketing setting.
 Since you are a local business owner can utilize offline methods to let people know about your place
of business. Newspaper ads, flyers distribution, and events such as instore presentations are a few
examples of these. Elaborating on this notion will create the situation for tremendous success!

Even though you are a small business with limited resources, offline marketing is still among the best
ways to attract new customers. Give these methods a try: posting flyers in crowded areas, advertising
your business on radio and giving away your business cards!

Digitally-based marketing platforms have changed the world we live in, the first question to be asked
is what is the need of the offline marketing campaign when the majority of people use online social
media? The answer is in the nature of the question! This is not just because ‘most’ of the targeted
audiences can access online media but ‘not all’.

As per the recent stats, it has revealed that the active internet users accounts for 48% out of the entire
population and the remaining percentages are yet to be benefited from the internet.

Many people who do not use the internet either live in rural, disadvantaged or low income areas belong
to a major part of this section. Since companies have to target their customers in mass they cannot solely
use the internet for advertising. Through leveraging offline marketing, they can reach the people who
are not in the reach of the Internet.

Now if somebody does not have a television and does not read newspaper they may still be touched by
an Advertisement through a hoarding or billboard and even through a radio broadcast. Hence why the
offline marketing will always exist and cannot be substituted by the online platform.

Examples of Offline Marketing Include Sarojini Market in New Delhi, Kamla Nagar Market etc

Differences between Online Marketing and Offline Marketing

S.No. Online Marketing Offline Marketing

Online marketing is generally focused on Offline marketing is generally focused on

online content. products.

Online marketing includes third parties like Offline marketing includes mass media,
media, web content, search email, social phone centre, telephone.
media.
 Online marketing communicates customers Offline marketing communicates with
with emails and social media. customer with their mobile number and
staff.

4.

Target audience meets at one place. Target audience is dispersed.

5.

It is cost effective. It involves high marketing cost.

Rural and Urban Markets

Rural Market

Rural marketing is the process that targets and influences behaviour for the rural population.

1. Large and scattered market:

As shown in the 2011 census, the number of people living in rural areas is estimated to be 68.4% (72%
in 2001) of the total population that is spread over a vast landscape. With reference to size, over 50%
of the nation lives in rural India and around 170 million people are the customers. The scale is almost
in the same order that US, UK, Germany, France, Japan and Italy would come up in. ITC e-choupal
and Project Shakti of HUL are the two new distribution and procurement models that have innovated
in a few rural areas.

2. Saving habits:

The belief of rural consumers to have savings also is because of the initiatives done by co-operative and
localised banks. More than 30% of the country’s savings are accumulated in the villages itself.

3. Traditional outlook:

Rural customer tends to mentally connect product with old customs and traditions and its core benefit.
The price-performance paradigm is at the heart of their belief. Therefore ‘Ghari’ detergent has become
more popular and ‘Wheel’ washing powder sales have gone down and as a result, it has taken the first
position regarding popularity in the detergent market.

4. Low standard of living:

The rural people generally have a lower standard of living compared to urban people due to the lack of
education, low wages, and backward social development. Nevertheless, despite the fact that 30% of
FMCG manufacturers’ total sales come from rural areas, the reliance on the urban population is quite
evident for fertiliser distribution.

5. Infrastructure facilities:

Communications systems among others, as well as roads and warehouses are poor in rural areas.
Therefore, physical distribution is no longer a cheap option. All the villages have no electrification.
During this period the improvement in literacy rate in rural area is twice that of urban areas (rural: The
majority of the population is living in rural areas (82.1%) and less than 10% of the population is living
in urban areas. Female literacy exceeds miss at both rural and urban areas.

Telephone services are not available in all the villages, as there is neither a post office nor a telephone
exchange in such villages. The radio network has witnessed a marked growth. It has come a long way
from the six stations at the start of independence, to now covering 98.8% of the population dispersed
over 90% of the country..

Urban Markets

Urban markets being the markets inside of cities, and the rural markets being the markets at outside of
the cities. The urban market is made up of highly alive people who carry out their activities in busy
environments in close contact with one another.

Features of Urban Markets

1. Improved infrastructure

Urban areas hold advantage in terms of better road infrastructure, public transport facilities, and basic
necessities like water and electricity.

2. Large population

Urban centers, usually, are closely associated with high density of population and extensive
construction to provide current amenities.

3. The good quality of service and administration.

Location have many factors to depend on economic sector. The cities with conventional services and a
highly organized administration occupy the central part of the largest metropolitan region and this
becomes the main reason for very high real estate prices.

4. Food waste

On average, worldwide, these result from the disposal of 30 to 50 percent of food, while the ratios are
much higher in urban areas than in rural settings.

Concept of Price
MEANING OF WHOLESALE AND RETAIL PRICE

Wholesale Price

The manufacturer or business owner charge the retailer that have buy products in the large scale. One
goal of wholesale pricing is to have profit by selling the goods in bulk at a price greater than the
manufacturing cost.

RETAIL PRICE

The last price that has been set by the retailer and is present on the labels for the end consumers as the
retailer price. At the end, the consumers are the ones who buy it at the retail price.

DIFFERENCE BETWEEN RETAIL AND WHOLESALE PRICE

1. Bulk purchases

The wholesalers sell to the retailers at a lower cost in bulk. This will create a profit for
wholesalers and make shipping, handling and total cost decrease.

2. Retail markups
The consumer buys the merchandise from a retailer at a higher price because the retailers add
their selling costs for the merchandise that they purchased from the wholesalers to the
wholesalers’ prices in order to generate their profits from the merchandise that they sell.
Retail price is more than the wholesale price.

3. Advertising costs
Retailers bear the cost of advertisement for the merchandise they sell whereas wholesalers do
not have to advertise their items. The retailer should put in consideration the factors that
matter to the customer experience.

WHOLESALE AND RETAIL PRICING METHODS

The wholesale marketing may go for different kinds of pricing strategies.

1. Demand-based pricing

Also, it is referred to as customer based pricing. A price pattern used by manufacturers at

wholesale for products or services, featuring consumers demand as the main pricing factor.
The cost of goods may rise during bad weather, festive season, or natural disasters which
could lead to destruction, either way.

2. Competitive pricing
Also known as strategic pricing. Using pricing of other merchandisers or that of competitors
as a basis of pricing is what can be called these practices. The store owners either it according
to the competition, above the competition or below their competitors.

3. Mark-up pricing

It is often called as cost-plus pricing as well. This approach consists of adding up a fixed
percentage on the cost of production of the item in question. When a mark-up price is
 established, different costs are added to the overhead costs, e.g. the cost of the raw materials,
the cost of production, and also the costs overheads. These are then totalized with markup
percentage or the profit margin added on top of them

4. Penetration pricing
In this method the company uses low prices either to get start in a new market or to introduce
any kind of new product or service. When the customer base in the new market is obtained,
the products can be priced slightly higher to the moderate price that has been set. Such an
approach will be most effective in the case of subscription products. The enterprises that
utilize this strategy include Netflix, Spotify and so on.

5. Price skimming
Under the concept of this wholesale pricing scheme, the business entities sell higher-priced
goods at the initial stage in order to gain as much revenue as possible, and also to cover the
immediate return of the production cost and to earn more before the competitors enter the
market.

6. Economy pricing
This basic and volume-based wholesale pricing strategy consists in pricing-low items and
then revenue is derived by the quantity of customers. This strategy is applicable in mass goods
market such as supermarket store brands and cheap airline carriers that make profit out of
many customers daily.

7. Psychological pricing
We are talking about the reduction of price labels of goods to less than a whole number in
this approach. The difference in prices is the significant difference between customers that
makes them impress.
For instance, the product which is marked as Rs.999/- only can be judged as very much
economical than the product/service which costs Rs.1000. In this situation, buyers buy
products governing their emotions instead of logic.

Definition of Maximum Retail Price (MRP)

Maximum Retail Price (MRP) refers to the maximum charge that a manufacturer or retailer may set for
a product. It is commonly (is usually) printed on the product packaging, as (along with) other
information like the product's ingredients or expiration date. The MRP is considered to be the value
established by the manufacturer or retailer; it is meant to be a safeguard against consumers being
overcharged. It is additionally aimed at stopping the retailers from charging more than the MRP for the
product because the latter may drive the consumers away and, consequently, harm the manufacturers’
and retailers’ reputation and wellbeing. Some of the countries have the MRP regulated by law. It is
illegal to charge above the MRP for a product.

Example : If the MRP of shampoo is ₹400, the seller cannot charge more than the MRP itself.

Objectives of Maximum Retail Price (MRP)

The main objectives of MRP are:

1. Protecting consumers: MRP plays a role in protecting consumers from being exploited by
making sure that the retailer cannot sell the products at prices higher than the MRP.
 2. Promoting fair competition: MRP is a policy that among retailers is beneficial by avoiding
them setting fake high prices for products.

3. Ensuring transparency: MRP helps to provide the transparency in pricing as the price at
which the product can be sold to a buyer at the end is clearly displayed.

4. Reducing black market activity: MRP can discourage retailers from selling the products at
prices greater than MRP since business transactions become trickier.

5. Reducing price discrimination: MRP assists to lessen price discrimination, one of the
common practices where people are charged different prices for the same product

6. Facilitating price comparison: MRP makes the comparison of prices for various products
conveniently, as the MRP is normally printed on the product packaging.

Who decides Maximum Retail Price (MRP) ?

Maximum Retail Price (MRP) is generally fixed by the manufacturer of the product or retailer. It is the
highest price at which the item can be sold to the end user, the one who pays for the product and it
includes taxes.
MRP is calculated based on the diverse elements like production cost, marketing expenses and profit
margin. This will be analysed by the manufacturer/seller and the price will be set accordingly, which is
considered to be fair and will allow them to cover their costs and make a profit.
In other cases, MRP can be legislated and the government or other state regulatory bodies may have
this task. The Indian Legal Metrology Act 2009 requires that the MRP of packaged goods be clearly
indicated on the product label or packaging, banning the sale of the product at a price above the MRP.

The fair price is an amount paid that takes into account quality, delivery and payment conditions. It is
calculated at the price which is fair for both the parties i.e. buyer and the seller. The business earns a
margin, though not excessively too much. Hence, both parties of the deal would love that price.
In the other cases we find it hard to evaluate a suitable price. It poses as an issue if the goods were
produced somewhere far and there is the purchase from intermediaries.

O. Heino and A. Takala show that a price is considered fair if (O. Heino, A. Takala 2015, p. 855):

The average customer should be ready to accept it, once the transaction is made successfully, meaning
the person has received it.

· This is built on what they not only think is morally right but also on what is fair.

What Is a Black Market?

A black market is a business activity which takes place outside of channels that are recognized by the
government. Most market illegal activities occur “off the table,” away from government price
regulations and taxes. Whatever is the product of a black market can be illegal, hence their purchase and
sale are forbidden, or legal but bought and sold to avoid taxes.

What Is a Grey Market?

Grey market is an unregulated marketplace.Grey markets are a parallel between the black markets and
white markets. These markets trade goods and services outside a company’s authorised distribution
channels.
Examples of grey markets include Gaffar Market in New Delhi, S.P Road in Bangalore etc.

Here are some characteristics of a grey market:

1. Too much competition
Companies frequently sell their goods to different distributors who compete among them to sell
their products. In such a situation one of the distributors try to give the best price for the products
so that they could survive the competition. When distributors sell their products at a low price
point, they sacrifice the potential profit per product sold. They might even sell the products at
such a low cost that unauthorized distributors might buy them and gain a profit by selling the
products elsewhere.Related: A competitive market and how it actually works?

2. Too little competition

Distributors, as brand approved sellers, bring most of their transactions under the brand’s
price guidelines. Some brand owners even require their distributors to sign a MAP policy,
which basically is an agreement that they will not beat the lowest prices at which their
products are sold by their competitors. The reason shopping is not competitive in terms of
pricing is that scrappers of materials are able to purchase and sell these products at a lower
price than other retail stores.

3. Rejected distribution
There is a possibility some manufacturers and brands will block distributors and retailers of
their product line from selling. Such change could make business want the products to be sold
despite not wanting them. Thus, it could motivate them to try other ways of purchasing or
selling it. This what mostly cooperation with unauthorized distributors who can obtain the
products at lower price and sell them at even lower price too.

4. International markets
Companies, when they sell their products all over the world, may apply differences in the
product prices of different countries. Such as, a camera in Italy will sell at 500 dollars while
the same camera in the United States can be sold at 800 dollars. Hence, there will be tendency
among retailers to purchase the cameras in Italy and then export them to the US and sell them
at a higher price.

5. High sales targets

Some factory owners can ask their employees to achieve certain sale organisations. In this
case, the employees may feel that they should provide discounts or giveaways to the
distributors who are their suppliers. This implies that retailers may be sold at varying prices by
salespeople to some distributors while other distributors get the products at a higher price.
They sell products, as well, to distributors who the brand didn’t give permission to.

Difference Between Black Market and Grey Market

The black market mainly revolves around the sale of the products that are illegal, counterfeit,
or stolen. Contrary to the myth, the grey market is the best channel of distribution for the
authentic goods being sold and bought by the unauthorised way.

Black Market and Grey Market are subsets of what is commonly known to be the illegal side of the
market. While markets are illegal, the black market differs from grey market. Black market is
synonymous with an illicit form or trade in products and services that are prohibited by law. These
transactions are usually transacted using bogus or counterfeit goods in the grey market.
 It covers the dealing with stolen goods and items banned to sell or counterfeit ones. Thus, these
goods and services are traded as well illegally. Such merchandise as weapons and drugs are being
traded among the most common black market products. Grey market is concomitant - it’s a small
interval of time after the patent expires so the original manufacturer will be able to compete on the
open market.

The grey market in some sense lies between the black and while markets. It happened with real
goods. At the same time, they are unable to have these validations or controlling factors.

Legal Issues in Advertising

The advertising process is regulated by different legal provisions aiming to safeguard the interest of the
customers. Here are some key legal issues in advertising:

1. Deceptive Advertising: Distorting/Using vague or misleading words/images to mislead clients

regarding a product/service.

2. Comparative Advertising: To compare the product or service in the unfair or incorrect way
with the competitor’s product or service.

3. Children’s Advertising: Advertising for children in a manner so as to cheat them or to misled

them, or which is related to their credulity.

Ethical Issues in Advertising

There are ethical issues in addition to the legal ones that advertising brings too. These are as follow:

1. Stereotyping: Applying stereotypes and featuring harmful or offensive ones.

2. Exploitation: By way of utilisation of some of the vulnerable groups, for instance, children
and elderly people are exploited to serve the commercial purposes.

3. Privacy: The usage of personal data without the consent of the authorised individual

4. Insensitivity: Because the representation of images could be offensive or insensitive to a

certain culture or group.

5. Negative Effect On the Environment: Promoting goods dealing with a possible detrimental
effect on the environment.

Self-Regulation in Advertising

The industry however, has branched out self-regulation mechanisms and codes to attend to the legal
and ethical issues. The self-regulatory mechanism is regulated by organisations like the Advertising
Standards Council of India (ASCI) which sets the industry ethical code of conduct for
advertisements in India.

ASCI code demands that advertising should not be untruthful, dishonest, misleading, or offensive
or harmful to the public. Moreover, the code comprises standards on matters like misleading claims,
safety, environmental claims, among others.

Ethics of Advertising:Here are some effective practices for ethical advertising:

 1. Be Fair and Honest: Make sure that the promises made in the advertising are factual, and that
deceptive or ambiguous words/language are not utilised.
2. Be Respectful: Make sure you do not try to stereotype or portray images that seem to be
offensive to some specific people belonging to a group.
3. Protect Privacy: Ensure that personal data gets collected in such a way that it maintains privacy
of the user.
4. Promote Responsibility: Ensure that your media is eco-friendly and doesn’t influence the
environment and the society negatively, promote company’s responsibility and reduce the
negative effects as a whole.
What Is Consumerism?
Consumerism is a concept that validates spending on marketed goods being an inevitable and desirable
goal, and it facilitates equating a person’s level of well-being and happiness with the quantity of
consumer and material goods he or she owns.

The need for strong consumerism in our country is due to the following reasons:
1. In the context of an enormous country like India, consumers are too scattered for the
organisation to be attained. The inhabitants, aside from being the lagging ones, have got the
multifaceted differences of languages, cultures, and faith, which makes the questions highly
complex
2. The few literate, educated, uninformed, and unenlightened are the minority of our population.
3. Some of the factors that block consumer movement growth are poverty, low social awareness,
being nature-acceptance, and passive orientation.
4. There is no common objective at all that can be considered positive between the consumers
except their pursuit for safety of the products, good quality and affordable price as well as the
strong negative of the products. Following mass production and with a wide and life-time of a
choice at their disposal , the consumers therefore require help, which can only be given by other
consumers themselves in a consumer organisation.
A consumer organisation/association is a membership-based version of a non-governmental non-profit
body that publicises and protects the interest of consumers goods and services.

Consumer organisations take the role of a mediator between consumers and manufacturers/service
providers by bridging the gap in their fights. Consumer organisations are quasi-government
organisations that safeguard the consumers from deceptions, low quality products, and lies in
advertisements about the goods & services.

They perform the following functions:

(i) Developing awareness among the consumers through organising training programs, seminars and
workshops related to consumer rights

(ii) Teaching the population information about consumer issues and disputes, what to report to the legal
system and relief available by publishing periodicals and publications.

(iii) Introducing the bullying of consumers when carrying out comparative testing of consumer products
in accredited laboratories and publicising the information for the benefit of every consumer.

(iv) Try to stimulate a consumer to do something against the seller if they use any fraud or dishonesty.
(v) Offering legal help to consumers through providing services like aid, advice, etc. to look for legal
remedy provided by court.

Consumer organisation of india-

(A)- Voluntary Organization in the Consumer Interest Education(VOICE)

(b)- Consumer Care Society

(c)- CIVITAS movement (Citizen, Consumer & Civic Action Group [CAG]).

These agencies are redressing the complaints raised by consumers. They are undertaking different
tactics in order to meet this. Following are the listed measures:

1. Seminars: Seminars are going and even TV and radio programs like talk shows are being
aired. These specific facets cover areas of consumer affairs, where consumers are being exposed
to paying out a lot of money in terms of purchasing the services or products, yet the business
firms carry on the neglect of their consumer interest.

2. Print Media: Brochures, flyers, and advertisements through print media have been used and
this is an avenue for consumers to learn their rights and responsibilities through such medium.

3. Quality Test: The tests of quality are being carried out by the organization that release the
result/study. The consumer is then educated about the unhealthy product that he/she might have
been using for ages. For instance, Maggi Noodles bearing a long history in the market, it was
consumed in large quantities, but it was later discovered that it contains led, which is not good
for health.

4. Boycotting Goods: They place authentic information for the quality of some products on the
consumer and always encourage them to refuse the unhealthy or defective articles. Through this
strategy, it becomes possible to address media attention too.

5. Legal Assistance: The customer bodies assist consumers by providing legal advice to them,
any help needed or knowing what their rights are, so that they can fight against the odds.
Professional lawyers are also available in the service of the less fortunate on a pro-bono basis
too.

6. Filing Complaints: In this way they also act as a medium through which they lodge a
complaint and petition in the court of law as away of giving justice to the consumer.

7. Initiative in Public Interest: They also fill up the general claims rather than those brought
in by an individual and gain justice.

Some key provisions and recent developments in consumer protection:

1. Central Consumer Protection Authority (CCPA):

A law has been passed called the CCPA, this grants it national status, which makes it essential
in ensuring consumer rights and interests are safeguarded. The CCPA is the body that has the
power to investigate, take action against anti-competitive behaviour, as well as files complaints
on behalf of consumers. This regulatory body controls the company to abide by consumer rights
and use ethical business system

2. State Consumer Protection Councils:

 State Consumer Protection Councils are developed at the state level by such act. These councils
collaborate with the CCPA in the implementation of consumer rights promotion and protection.
This is an avenue where consumers can get to air their problems. They also perform a key
function in dynamics of information enlightenment and educating consumers about their duties
and rights.

3. Mediation as an Alternative Dispute Resolution:

There has been remarkable progress in consumer protection under the Consumer Protection Act
of 2019 with the provision of mediation as a means of alternative dispute resolution. Mediation
is a procedure that is designed to speed up the settlement of consumer disputes within a less
expensive, quicker, and easily accessible format. Consumers can initiate mediation through
resolutions either before/during the consumer court hearings. It is a means of satisfying the need
for settlement and negotiation between consumers and businesses. It also reduces the burden of
the legal system.

4. E-commerce Regulations:

The act is covering the looming role of e-commerce platforms and enacting special rules for
online purchases. Now, e-commerce enterprises are legally responsible for any false or
misleading advertisements, infringements against consumer rights' compliance, or unfair trade
practice. This is to prevent them from getting cheated when they’re into e-commerce.
Consumers should be more keen on their rights when shopping now and even in the course of
any instances that they face infringements.

5. Product Liability:

The act covers the topic of product liability by pursuing manufacturers, sellers and service
providers, in the event of defective products or inadequate services, compensating the harm
done to consumers. This rule allows consumers to apply for reparations in case of severe
damage or low standard of service. It is imperative for consumers to know that they have a legal
right to file a product liability claim and ensure that such claims are compensated in the event
of receiving proper support and compensation.

6. Consumer Awareness and Education

The act is oriented at teaching and raising consumer education and awareness. It motivates
government, consumer organizations and businesses to take up the embarkment of informed
consumers education initiative. Empowering consumers to make well-informed choices to save
themselves from unfair practices, support fair trade and create a balanced marketplace is the
main goal of promotional campaigns aimed at raising the level of knowledge.

Other Initiatives Include

The consumer department launched an integrated grievance redressal modus operandi (INGRAM)
portal which provides a single platform for all parties which include consumers, Central and State
Government Agencies, private companies, regulators, Ombudsmen and call centres etc

The OCMC has been set up at the National Law School of India University, Bengaluru under the aegis
of the Ministry of Consumer Affairs, Government of India.

Because of the Government of India’s mission to bring digital payment culture into the people, many
crores of the digital non literate consumers who have not even used the internet earlier will convert to
the group of internet users who use the internet not only for personal but also for business activities and
pay using the internet. Aiming at protecting the consumer online, a year-long campaign for making
consumers across the country net-safe in association with Google is being run.

In collaboration with the Local Circles, a social platform, the Department has released an Online
Consumer Club platform for the citizens to debate on and provide their thoughts on consumer related
issues. Citizens can get connected with his/her multiple communities whether it is their Government,
City, causes, Interest, needs, and neighbourhoods, etc with Local Circles. If citizens get networked, it
results in transparency, people/humans breaking out of isolation to address common issues.

Case Study

Rural Marketing

Rural India contributes to 35 percent of total FMCG spends and the consumption rate is almost 3-5
times faster than urban consumption. Customers are buying more from companies that are located in
cities but at the same time penetration and competition is also rising for these firms in urban areas.
Prices of products are lowered and margins of companies squeezed, which has made them look for other
markets. Rural markets are gaining more importance in the eyes of FMCG companies with 70 per cent
of the country's population residing there and the main consumer class being people who live here. The
article here presents the way Hindustan Unilever Limited (HUL) gets to the rural villages and
benchmark their market prospects.

Hindustan Unilever Ltd. (HUL) is the biggest FMCG company in India with a consolidated turnover of
about Rs. India invested about 7,73,000 crore during the year 2018-19. The HUL has a wide range of
products that covers food drinks, personal care products, cleaning agents and consumer goods. Facing
tougher onslaughts and recession blues the FMCG industry has its profitability obstacles. The industry
now turns its attention to rural India and smaller towns to push the sale, build a locale connect and
enhance visibility The demand in rural regions for personal care products has been growing faster than
that in urban regions; therefore, the rural villages will also considerably contribute in the growth chart
of HUL.

This initiative was named Project Shakti and the aim was to develop demand for the HUL products and
penetration of its products in several small villages of India. It also empowers the rural women who
work under this scheme to generate income and livelihood for themselves since they work as Shakti
Ammas (SAs). The human distribution initiative of HUL, Project Shakti that has 45000 women
entrepreneurs registered in 18 states is one such example where Shakti Amma’s act as ambassadors for
the product promotion.

HUL, thus, decides on appointing Shakti Amma’s by locating poor female members of the community
with the aid of the local panchayat mechanism. She trains them to be women sales representatives. At
the training phase, she invests a small amount of money to buy our products for her to sell from HUL.
An Amma, therefore, could be an extension of HUL in the smallest villages where there is no economic
viability for distributors to work. Shakti Amma markets the product by opening emanated shops at home
or doing door-to-door selling. As the products are also sold to retail shops in that village through Shakti
Amma, this strategy makes the project more attractive and viable.

Misleading Advertisements

Volkswagen, one of the world’s best-known automotive brands, has found itself in the midst of legal
issues due to its fraudulent advertising campaigns. The main problem is that its "clean diesel" campaign
particularly enjoined VW and Audi diesel vehicles as environmentally-friendly, and compliant with
emission-standards.
US Federal Trade Commission (FTC) announced its investigation of Volkswagen's claim about “defeat
device” that the diesel cars released lower-emission (and environment-friendly) are not true. This
machine concealed the retests of emissions, hence making the transporters seem compliant with the
environmental standards as opposed to the fact that they are not.

The company was found guilty of implementing such a deceptive practice that led to a massive false
advertising case, hence, an agreement had to be made by the company that compelled it to pay fines as
compensation to affected vehicle owners and lessees.

Deceptive advertising is no longer a one time case as in with the Volkswagen case, but a growing and
serious issue in industry. It emphasises the necessity that brands always hold tautness and transparency
in their marketing messages. Deceiving consumers can be very costly leading to litigation, legal
implications, loss of revenue, and consequently, reputational losses and damage.

The VW costs for the activities were considerable. The lawsuit sailed in with the highest fine in its
history. The FTC announced to settle part of the case and asked Volkswagen to repay up to $10 billion
to its owners and lessees. Additionally, there has been a huge dent on the company's reputation which
has consequently led to low consumer trust and the brand's repercussions witnessed globally as well.

SUMMARY

• Consumer Affairs of the current time tackle all issues of consumer recruitment since days and has
achieved global recognition during recent times. Goods are made for all kinds of people, and they
include men as well as women, girls as well as boys and older people too. The Consumer Protection
Act 1986 will obviously define the term 'consumer' by using the words ‘goods' and ‘services'.

• The consumer protection act, 1986 defines the terms 'consumer' as anyone who purchases or ireizes
the goods, hires services, or is the beneficiary of the services. Any person one buys goods for onward
sale or for making a profit is 'consumer' under the Consumer Protection Act however.

• Customer behaviour entails the investigation into human decisions for either individual lives, group
lives or organisational careers in order to make certain that product, service, ideas or experiences desired
are available. The purchase consumption is very dissimilar for paying for a brooch to a LCD or an
insurance policy. When possible, we also try to include buyers in the focus groups and study their buying
journey more. Hence, usually more complex choices have thought-over buying decisions and a longer
cycle of deliberation.

• Among the consumer buying behaviour, four types exist determined by the degree of buying
involvement and the degree of brand differences to the other members of the market. In the given
context, these are psychological but they can be attributed to association-reducing buying behaviour,
variety seeking buying behaviour and habitual buying behaviour.very important for any company and
marketers should design customer relationship management (CRM) programs specifically to acquire
and retain them.

• Buyer process of a home may involve either one or all of these roles. Certain roles may be more critical
than the rest under specific circumstances and related to particular cases.

• The buying cycle by the consumer involves five stages including the recognition of need, the
exploration of information, the assessment of options, the choice and the post-purchase behaviour.

• Concerning the results of the purchase post, there are three possible opportunities. They are customer
satisfaction, post purchase cognitive dissonance and post purchase loyalty.Customers are therefore

• The buying goal refers to the reason that a customer intends to buy the product in question. Hence,
motive refers to telling, perceiving, feeling, thinking, emotion, and moving, which as a result creates a
decision towards purchase from a buyer. Customer motivation takes the form of a demand for a product
to meet a necessary need. No matter how fancy the product is and how great the marketing is,the
customer would not care about it if he does not require it in the first place. Since most of the business
is primarily driven by consumers, it is this buying motive that holds the key.

• Customer satisfaction is a golden rule of the market, by which one can grow and develop strong
profitable relationships.Through this marketers try

so that they have relatively little competition and can take the most loyal customers, thereby benefiting
from funds during a consumer's lifetime.

• An unhappy customer, by spreading the word to other people in disapproving nature, will definitely
be discouraging his/her friends and relatives from using that same products. He may still give away the
item or sell it off as well. The hacker can be even looking for the data which could match it with the
high-level data that he is already aware of. The consumer might not only change the company through
trying to complain, contemplating about the lawyer, but can also be an advocate by taking public action,
e.g. complaining through business or private agencies or even the government agencies.

individual response are comprised of twofold- a consumer may stop purchasing the branded goods or
sharing the warning.

• Various types of claims are emphasized in response to businesses, depending whether their activities
are focused on goods or on services. A complaint by the dissatisfied customer can be made to the
business in various ways, and referred to the main corporative redressal systems, intermediation for
resolution Out-of-Court, or the Alternative Dispute Resolution methods.

• The market can be defined as a group of people who are attracted by the product or are willing to buy
it in the future. Through these exchanges, the buyers on the limelight have a specific desire or motivation
which can be addressed. The definition of market has undergone a major transformation and now the
market is more than physical places where the buyers and sellers get together and are also identified as
online and offline markets.

• A market-place has got a brick-and-mortar location and the buyers regularly walk into a store, either
randomly or based on their selection criteria, to have a look at what's in a store. Online customer’s and
merchant’s interaction is not limited to physical or direct conversation, they are both in a virtual global
market.

• Indian consumer market could be divided into two parts that are markets of urban and rural areas. An
urban consumer is more knowledgeable than a rural one because of the awareness of their consumer
rights which is almost impossible for a rural market.

Misleading advertisement is the concept where the viewer’s perception of the product is distorted in
such a manner that the repeat of the process of perception will almost always lead to different results
from those of real life. It involves creating a misleading, distorting or even the any practice that aims at
deceiving the public.

ASCI is a voluntary self regulator and associated with the company those have come up under section
25 of the Indian companies.Act. Advertising Standards Council of India (ASCI) (1985) has introduced
a Code for Self-Regulation of Advertising It is an assurance of honest and fair advertising which gives
the advertisers and all the other advertising related parties equal chance to compete for the consumers
patronage. It is also meant for the protection of the consumers and all other parties that concern
themselves with the advertising process - advertisers, media,
Approximately 12 Acts in India including deceptive advertising laws. In a scenario like this Consumer
Protection Act, 1986, Food Safety and Standard Act, 2006, Drugs and Magic Remedies (Objectionable
Advertisements), The Competition Act 2002 are some few examples.

Duplex packaging is a marketing concept that is knowingly used by producers to fool and mislead
consumers. This leads to so many treacherous or deceptively sold goods, and those who make a purchase
are misled. The consumer by this packaging may reach the point of the view that she will get larger sum
or the product will be of top quality.

A buyer can sue a manufacturer of goods in case the packaging misleads the consumer -this may be
done under the Consumer Protection Act, 1986 and also under the Legal Metrology Act, 2009.

FACTORS AFFECTING THE VOICING OF CONSUMER GRIEVANCES

All of us have consumer rights. As consumers, we have the right to know what we will receive before
we pay for a product or service, obtain what we pay for, complain when we are dissatisfied, and get our
money back when we have a legitimate complaint. After receiving a product/service a consumer may
detect a shortcoming. Some buyers may not want the flawed product, others will be indifferent to the
flaw. Some shortcomings can be dangerous to consumers. Companies making automobiles, toys, and
pharmaceuticals quickly recall their products if there is the slightest danger of injuring the consumers.
Product liability is a new concept that has been added to the Consumer Protection Act, 2019 to protect
Indian consumers and provide relief and compensation to every claim for compensation under a product
liability action by a complainant for any harm caused by a defective product manufactured by a product
manufacturer or serviced by a product service provider or sold by a product seller. A product liability
action may be brought by a complainant against a product manufacturer a product service provider or a
product seller, as the case may be, for any harm caused to him on account of a defective product.

CONCILIATION AND INTERMEDIATION FOR OUT-OF-COURT REDRESSAL

Certain government departments such as telecommunications water, and electricity organize Lok
Adalats from time to time so that the grievances of consumers relating to their departments can be
handled. This is a practical method to handle consumer grievances and seek a solution. Six categories
of public utility services are included in the jurisdiction of permanent Lok Adalats under Section 22 A
in Clause B of the notification of permanent Lok Adalats. They are transport services for the carriage
of passengers or goods by air, road, or water, postal, telegraph, or telephone service, supply of power,
light, or water to the public or any establishment, system of public conservancy, or sanitation, service
in hospital or dispensary and insurance sector.

Some departments such as, railways have made their services efficient and guide the consumers through
their customer care number 139 and toll-free number 1800-111-321. In three service sectors viz.
banking, insurance, and electricity ombudsmans have been created for free and fast redressal of
consumer complaints. The Banking Ombudsman addresses 27 grounds of complaints regarding
deficiency in banking services. 3.08 lakh complaints were received by the Banking Ombudsman in the
Year Financial Year 2020 which were 57.5% higher than the previous year. In the food sector, the Food
Safety and Standardisation Authority has been created. Due to the growing number of problems of home
buyers Real Estate Regulatory Authority (RERA) has been created.

The government by now has enacted 24 pro-consumer Acts to control buyer-seller relations in the
marketplace. The major consumer protection legislations in India are:

The Indian Penal Code, 1860

The Indian Contract Act, 1872
The Sale of Goods Act, 1930
The Agricultural Produce (Grading and Marking) Act, 1937
The Drugs and Cosmetics Act 1940
The Drugs (Control) Act, 1950
The Emblems and Names (Prevention of Improper Use) Act, 1952.
The Essential Commodities Act, 1955
The Consumer Protection Act, 2019
The Trade Marks Act, 1999
The Prevention of Black Marketing and Maintenance of Supplies of Essential Commodities Act, 1980
The Bureau of Indian Standards Act, 2016
The Competition Act, 2002
The Cigarettes and Other Tobacco Products (Prohibition of Advertisement and Regulation of Trade and
Commerce, Production, Supply and Distribution) Act, 2003
Right to Information Act 2005
The Food Safety and Standards Act, 2006
The Legal Metrology Act, 2009

CONSUMER AND MARKETS

A market is the set of actual and potential buyers of a product. These buyers share a particular need or
want that can be satisfied through exchange relationships.

Nature of markets

Markets can be divided into various business models:

Business to Business (B2B): As the name suggests is a business model that facilitates business
transactions from one business to the other.

Business to government (B2G): the provision of goods and services to government agencies at the
federal, state, and local levels.

Business-to-consumer market (B2C): A Business-to-consumer model consists of both offline and

online retailers that sell to the consumers.

Consumer to Consumer (C2C): Customer to customer (C2C) is a business model that facilitates an
environment where customers can trade with each other.
Consumer to business C2B: It is a business model in which consumers (individuals) create value and
businesses consume that value.

Offline Markets

Offline markets or marketplaces are a physical location of buyer and seller interaction. At the
marketplace, the sellers and buyers meet each other individually and share information. Thereafter,
negotiations take place and an exchange of products or services occurs. Examples of the marketplace
are retail stores, outlets, supermarkets, etc.

Online markets

Online markets can be defined as virtual markets where information and communication technology
(ICT) based electronic or online exchange takes place between buyers and sellers. Physical boundaries
do not interfere with such transactions. Online markets are facing certain problems like hacking of
private information, plagiarism, copyright, web tracking, spam emails, etc…

Urban and rural markets

Urban markets refer to markets that are inside of cities, while rural markets refer to markets that are
outside of cities.
The Indian consumer market is broadly segregated into urban and rural markets and attracts marketers
from across the world. Multinational corporations consider India as one of the key markets from where
future growth is likely to emerge. The growth in India's consumer market is primarily driven by a
young and huge middle class and increasing disposable incomes. A recent study by the McKinsey
Global Institute (MGI) suggests that if India continues to grow at the current pace, average household
incomes will triple over the next two decades, making the country the world's fifth-largest consumer
economy by 2025, from the current 12th position
In rural areas, mobile marketing and localized events can be powerful tools, while urban markets may
benefit from immersive experiences, augmented reality, and social media campaigns. Striking a balance
between tradition and technology is the key to capturing the attention of diverse consumer bases.

Concept of price in wholesale and retail

The word wholesale simply means selling in bulk quantities and retail stands for selling merchandise
in small quantities.

Concept of Wholesale

Wholesale refers to the selling of goods to customers like retailers, industries, and others in bulk, at a
low price. It is a type of business in which goods are purchased from the producers by the wholesaler
in big lots, and then the bulk is split into comparatively smaller lots. Finally, they are repacked and
resold to the other parties.

Concept of Retail Retail means selling goods in small lots. When the goods are sold to the final
customer, for consumption and not for resale, in small quantities, then this business type is known as
Retail. Retailers are the middlemen between wholesalers and customers. They purchase goods from
wholesalers in bulk and sell it to the ultimate consumer in small lots.

Wholesale prices are lower than retail prices because manufacturers offer discounts for bulk purchases.
This benefits both parties - manufacturers get rid of larger quantities and retailers get a lower cost per
unit. The retail price then reflects the markup a store adds to cover storage, staff, marketing, and profit,
resulting in the final price you pay as a consumer.

Maximum retail price

MRP is fixed by the manufacturer and is inclusive of taxes unless otherwise mentioned. Thus when a
consumer buys a packed commodity in the market, he is required to pay the maximum retail price as
indicated on the cover inclusive of all taxes.

Features of MRP

MRP gives better visibility into production - everyone sees the plan and catches problems early.

MRP shortens lead times - by having the right materials on hand, things get built faster. MRP
saves money on storage - you only order what you need, so less sits around collecting dust.

MRP helps make better decisions - data from MRP helps you plan production and spending wisely.

MRP creates standard processes - everyone follows the same plan, which keeps things running
smoothly.

Goods and Service Tax (GST) and MRP

Goods and Service Tax (GST) came into effect on July 1, 2017. It was rolled out jointly by President
Pranab Mukherjee and Prime Minister Narendra Modi.

This tax aims to have a "One Nation -One Tax-One Market". It is largely technology-driven and has
been implemented in 29 states and 2 Union territories. GST has subsumed many indirect taxes such as.
Central excise, VAT, customs duty
The MRP on a pre-packaged commodity is inclusive of all taxes that can be levied from the consumer,
including the GST. No retailer can charge GST over MRP.

Fair price

A fair and reasonable price is the price point for the goods and services that is fair to both parties
involved in the transaction. This amount is based upon the agreed-upon conditions, promised quality,
and timeliness of contract performance.

GREY MARKET

The grey market is the trade of a commodity through distribution channels that are legal but unintended
by the original manufacturer. Grey market products are products sold by a manufacturer or their
authorized agent outside the terms of the agreement between the reseller and the manufacturer.
Because of the nature of grey markets, it is difficult or impossible to track the precise numbers of grey
market sales. Grey market goods are often new, but some grey market goods are used goods.

ETHICS IN ADVERTISING
In advertising ethical issues are broadly divided into two categories, ie, ethical dilemma and ethical
lapse'. The first is an ethical dilemma that arises when the pros and cons regarding a particular issue are
even, where ethics are concerned.

An ethical lapse occurs when there is a known violation or deviation from standards. For example,
conveying an inaccurate message while knowing it is wrong is an ethical lapse.

There are three parameters. which help in deciding whether an advertisement is ethical, or not are:

Advocacy: It refers to what an advertisement is trying to say and whether this is objective or neutral.

Accuracy: It refers to whether the claim made by the company is true and verifiable. Acquisitiveness:

It refers to whether the advertisement is promoting materialism.

Advertising Deceptive

The Constitution of India guarantees freedom of speech. Special restraint is needed in commercial
speech including advertising. An advertisement is called deceptive when it misleads people, alters
reality, and affects buying behavior. According to the Federal Trade Commission (USA), deception
occurs when"

• There is misrepresentation, omission, or a practice that is likely to mislead.

• The consumer is acting responsibly in given circumstances

• The practice is material and consumer injury is possible because consumers are likely to have chosen
differently if there is no deception.

Advertising is criticized for the following:

☆Advertising content carrying inappropriate information

☆products being advertised and safety issues

☆advertisement violating consumers' right to choice.

☆ advertisement directed to children

☆ Advertising's influence on the media

☆ promoting unhealthy products

DECEPTIVE PACKAGING
 Packaging is important as it is the buyer's first encounter with the product. A good package draws
the consumer in and encourages product choice. Deceptive packaging is a product packaging
intentionally designed to deceive consumers. Thus, it is a fraudulent or misleading package, which
induces the consumer of a good to make a purchase. The packaging may make the consumer believe
that he would get a larger quantity or that the product will have higher quality.

Consumers can complain to the manufacturer if the packaging is deceptive under the Consumer
Protection Act, of 2019, and also under the Legal Metrology Act, of 2009.

Amendments were made in the Legal Metrology (Packaged Commodities) Rules, 2011 to safeguard the
interest of consumers and to promote ease of doing business. This has come into force w.e.f. 01.01.2018.

The salient features are as under:-

(a) Goods displayed by the seller on the e-commerce platform shall contain declarations required under
the Rules.
(b) Specific mention is made in the rules that no person shall declare different MRPs (dual MRPs) on
an identical pre-packaged commodity.
(c) The size of letters and numerals for making declarations is increased, so that consumers can easily
read the same.
(d) The net quantity checking has been made more scientific.
(e) Bar Code has been allowed voluntarily.

(f) Provisions regarding declarations on Food Products have been harmonized with regulations under
the Food Safety & Standards Act.

(g) Medical devices that are declared as drugs are brought into the purview of declarations to be
made under the rules.
CONSUMER MOVEMENT IN INDIA

CONCEPT OF CONSUMERISM

"Consumerism is concerned with protecting consumers from all organizations with which there is an
exchanged relationship. It encompasses the set of activities of government, business, independent
organizations and concerned consumers that are designed to protect the rights of consumers". The
Chamber's dictionary defines "Consumerism as the protection of the interests of buyers of goods and
services against defective or dangerous goods".

According to Philip Kotler, "Consumerism is a social movement for government agencies to improve
the buyer's rights and powers over sellers." Consumerism or consumer movement is directing the market
to be a buyer's market instead of being a seller's market and empowering the consumers about their
consumer rights, According to Cravens and Hills, "Consumerism is a social force within the
environment designed to aid and protect the consumer by exerting legal, moral and economic pressure
on the business". The basic idea behind the consumer protection movement is the protection of the
rights of consumers.

CONSUMER ORGANIZATIONS IN INDIA

Major Consumer Organizations in India:

1. Consumer Voice

2. CERC (Consumer Education and Research Centre)

3. FEDCOT (Federation of Consumer Organisations in Tamil Nadu)

4. Citizen Consumer and Civic Action Group

5. Consumer Guidance Society of India

6. CUTS (Consumer Unity of Trust Society)

7. Mumbai Grahak Panchayat

1. Consumer VOICE
Consumer VOICE was founded in 1983-84. Till mid-1986, Consumer VOICE functioned as an
unregistered voluntary consumer association. On 28 June 1986, it was registered as a Public Charitable
Trust. In 1988 the Department of Company Affairs, Govt. of India accorded recognition to Consumer
VOICE under the MRTP Act. The trust has since been granted exemption under section 80-G of the
Income Tax Act and, donations made to the Trust are exempt from Tax. However, the organization does
not accept donations from private enterprises to ensure objectivity, or from individuals except when the
donor is genuinely committed to espousing the cause of consumer protection. It raises awareness in
consumers about malpractices perpetuated in the marketplace, but also about consumer rights.
Consumer VOICE empowers consumers to make informed choices by comparative testing of products
and services and also influences decision-makers in the up-gradation of National Standards. They help
the consumers to fight for their rights and get value for their money. They also inform manufacturers
of improvements required in their products. Since 1997, VOICE has been publishing Consumer VOICE,
a magazine in English, Hindi, and also digitally, that focuses on bringing information regarding tested
products and empowers them to make informed choices.

2. Consumer Education and Research Centre (CERC)

Consumer Education and Research Centre (CERC) was set up in 1978, at Ahmedabad, which is
dedicated to the education and empowerment of consumers as well as the promotion and protection of
consumer interests through effective uses of education, research, the media, and law. CERC has three
major goals to make consumers aware of their rights, to help them protect themselves, and to make
providers of goods and services accountable.

Its activities include comparative testing of products, complaints handling, legal advice and litigation,
consumer education and awareness programs, library and information service, publication, advocacy,
and investor and environment protection. At CERC's in-house laboratory, comparative testing is
conducted in four product categories, pharmaceuticals, personal care products, and domestic electrical
appliances. 72/242

3. FEDCOT (Federation of Consumer Organisations in Tamil Nadu)

The Federation of Consumer Organisations of Tamil Nadu and Pondicherry, is well known. by its
acronym, FEDCOT is a nation-wide non-governmental organization, established in 1990.It is an
umbrella body of more than 350 registered consumer associations in Tamil Nadu and Pondicherry. It is
one of the largest consumer organisations in the country anthe d in Asia working at grass-roots level. It
embraces people from different walks of life. It's sixty percentage of the member councils are organized
in rural areas. FEDCOT acts as a research, training, education, awareness creating and advocacy group.
It builds linkages and works in partnership with community-based organisations and grass-roots
communities to strengthen their capacity and empower them to participate through initiatives in socio-
economic accountable governance, sustainable agriculture, gender equalisation and ecological
endeavours.

4. Citizen Consumer and Civic Action Group

CAG came into existence on 7 October 1985 as a non-profit, non-political, non-religious, voluntary and
professional citizens group based in Chennai, India.

The Group was originally christened Consumer Action Group. After nearly a decade of their existence,
they changed it to CAG (Citizen, consumer and civic Action Group). They deal with issues affecting
the common citizen such as extreme pollution, lack of access to information, poor quality health care
and civic amenities have emerged at priorities in the work undertaken by CAG

5. Consumer Guidance Society of India

The Consumer Guidance Society of India (CGSI) is a consumerights organisation based in Mumbai,
India. It was founded by nine women in 1966, and became the first to conduct formal product testing in
1977. CGSI publishes a magazine, Keemat. It works in the area of consumer rights and raises its voice
against sub-standard products, very high prices, hazardous drugs, never ending shortage of goods and
many more injustices.

6. Consumer Unity of Trust Society

CUTS International (Consumer Unity & Trust Society) was formed in 1983 in Rajasthan. The
organisation today has five programme centres and one resource centre in India (at with handquarters
Chittorgarh, Calcutta and New Delhi), two resource centres in India (at Jaipur with headquarters,
Chittorgarh, Calcutta and New Delhi), two resource centres in Africa (at Lusaka, Zambia and Nairobi,
Kenya) and one resource centre in London, UK. CUTS is probably the only Indian NGO with such
overseas operations.

CUTS is registered since 1984, under the Rajasthan Societies Registration Act, 1958, the FCRA and
under Sec: 80G of the Income Tax Act. It is governed by a 12-member Executive Committee, which
are elected every three years from a general body of 350 life members and 150 institutional members.
The activities of CUTS comprise research, advocacy and networking. Its working on several areas such
as

a. Consumer protection,

b. International trade and development,

c. Competition, investment and economic regulation,

d. Human development, and

e. Consumer safety

7. Mumbai Grahak Panchayat

Mumbai Grahak Panchayat (MGP) is a registered voluntary consumer organization established in 1975.
It has more than 20,000 members in and around Mumbai (Bombay) to whom it supplies about 75
essential commodities at their door-step, every month. MGP's joint purchase and distribution system
has been acclaimed by Cons

International which supports, links and represents consumer organizations all over the world. To enable
consumers to exercise their choice, especially before festivals, MGP also has Consumer Plazas at
different locations in the city, for 10 days every year. Items like readymade clothes, bed sheets, bags,
sarees, utensils, crockery are sold at reasonable rates.

MGP's Consumer Protection Wing has filed a number of public interest petitions to protect consumers'
interests. MGP's Consumer Education Wing organizes consumer awareness camps, workshops,
seminars for students and teachers
UNIT – II The Consumer Protection Act (CPA), 1986
INTRODUCTION

The Consumer Protection Act is a legal framework designed to safeguard the rights and interests of
consumers when they are engaging in transactions for goods and services. Its main goal is to uphold
fair trade practices, shield customers from unfair or misleading business practices, and provide
mechanisms for the resolution of consumer disputes. The Consumer Protection Act serves to create a
more equitable marketplace where consumers can make informed choices and have recourse in case of
grievances, promoting trust and confidence in the marketplace.

BACKGROUND

The Industrial Revolution and the development of international trade and commerce have led to the vast
expansion of business and trade. As a result, a wide range of consumer goods and services have become
available to meet the needs of consumers. This affected the relationship between the traders and the
consumers making the principle of consumer sovereignty almost inapplicable. The advertisements of
goods and services influence the demand for the same by the consumers though there may be defects
or shortcomings with the product or service. To ensure public welfare, the glut of adulterated and sub-
standard articles in the market to be checked various provisions were formed to provide relief to
consumers yet it became necessary to protect the consumers from exploitation and to save them from
adulterated and sub-standard goods and services and to safeguard the interests of the consumers.
Keeping this in consideration the Consumer Protection Bill, of 1986 was introduced and the Act was
passed in Assembly in October 1986 and came into force on December 24, 1986, and referred to as
COPRA Act 1986. Later it was replaced by The Consumer Protection Act, of 2019. The Act focuses on
giving more power by taking transparency to another level.

OBJECTIVES OF CONSUMER PROTECTION ACT

1. Protecting Consumer Rights: The act codifies and protects the fundamental rights of consumers,
including the right to safety, the right to be informed, the right to choose, and the right to seek
redress. It also outlines the responsibilities of businesses to uphold these rights and treat
consumers with honesty, integrity and respect.

2. Preventing Unfair Trade Practices: The CPA aims to prevent businesses from engaging in
deceptive, fraudulent, or unfair practices that may exploit or harm consumers. This includes
counterfeiting, deceptive marketing, fraudulent schemes, and false advertising are examples of unfair
trade practices that the Consumer Protection Act seeks to stop. To guarantee that they are treated fairly
and honestly in the marketplace, it gives customers legal redress against companies that participate in
such things.

3. Ensuring Product Safety and Quality: Another objective of the CPA is to ensure that products
and services meet established safety and quality standards. To lower the possibility of damage or injury
to customers, the act creates rules and standards for product safety, labelling, packaging, and
manufacturing procedures.

4. Providing Redressal Mechanisms: The CPA provides mechanisms for consumers to seek
redress and compensation for any harm or losses suffered as a result of purchasing defective or
substandard products or receiving poor-quality services. Consumers have the right to seek refunds,
replacements, repairs, or monetary compensation for damages incurred due to the actions or negligence
of businesses.

5. Promoting Consumer Awareness and Education: The CPA aims to empower consumers by
promoting awareness of their rights and responsibilities. The act mandates that companies give accurate
and transparent information about their goods and services including details on costs, terms of sale,
warranties, and return guidelines. Customers are given the ability to defend themselves against
dishonest or unfair trade practices and make educated decisions.

6. Encouraging Ethical Business Practices: By enforcing fair trade practices and holding
businesses accountable for their actions, the CPA seeks to promote ethical conduct and corporate
responsibility in the business community. This helps foster trust and confidence in the marketplace and
enhances consumer confidence in the products and services they purchase.

UNITED NATION GUIDELINES FOR CONSUMER PROTECTION

1. Basic Consumer Rights: The UNGCP outlines eight fundamental consumer rights, including
the right to safety, the right to be informed, the right to choose, the right to be heard, the right
to redress, the right to consumer education, the right to a healthy environment, and the right to
basic needs.

2. Protection from Hazardous Products: The guidelines emphasize the necessity of guaranteeing
product safety and shielding customers from dangerous goods and services. This entails establishing
standards for product safety, evaluating risks, and putting policies in place to take dangerous items off
the market.

3. Fair Business Practices: The UNGCP highlights the importance of fair business practices and
calls on companies and governments to guarantee that customers are treated honestly and fairly in the
marketplace. This involves stopping dishonest marketing, false advertising, and fraudulent activities.

4. Consumer Education and Awareness: The guidelines emphasize the importance of consumer
education and awareness programs to empower consumers with information about their rights and
responsibilities. This includes providing access to information about product quality, safety, and
pricing, as well as raising awareness about consumer protection laws and mechanisms for redressal of
grievances. They encourage governments to promote information about consumer rights and obligations
and to develop consumer literacy.

5. Access to Redress: The UNGCP advocates for the establishment of effective mechanisms for
resolving consumer disputes and providing redress to consumers who have been harmed by unfair or
deceptive practices. This may include the establishment of consumer courts, tribunals, ombudsman
schemes, and alternative dispute resolution mechanisms.

6. International Cooperation: The guidelines encourage international cooperation and

collaboration among governments, consumer organizations, businesses, and other stakeholders to
promote consumer protection principles. Countries are encouraged to collaborate on sharing
information, best practices, and experiences to enhance consumer protection globally.

CONSUMER

Consumer means any person who

• Acquires goods for consideration that have been paid for promised or partially paid and
promised, or under any deferred payment plan. This includes any user of the goods who does
 not purchase them for consideration that has been paid for promised, partially paid for, or party
promised, or under any deferred payment plan, provided that the use of the goods is done with
the consent of the buyer. It excludes anyone who purchases the goods for resale or any other
commercial purpose.
• Hires or utilizes any payment service that has been made in full or in part, for consideration
that has been paid or promised, partially paid or partially promised, or under any deferred
payment system. This includes any recipient of the service, aside from the person who hires or
utilizes it for payment that has been made in full or in part, for consideration that is partially
paid and partially promised, or under any deferred payment system, provided that the use of the
service is authorized by the person who made the initial mention. However, it excludes anyone
who uses any service for any commercial purpose.

• In the case of A Narsamma v. LI India, the question as to whether the widow of the
deceased policyholder was a 'consumer' under the Act was decided in the affirmative
by the State Commission in Andhra Pradesh. The State Commission held that as the
term 'consumer' includes any beneficiary of service other than the person who hires the
services for consideration, the widow being the beneficiary of services is a 'consumer'
under the Act entitled to be compensated for the loss suffered by her due to negligence
of the LIC.

GOODS

The Sale of Goods Act and the CPA, 1986 both define “goods” in the same way. According to the Sales
of Goods Act, “goods” refers to any type of immovable property, except money and actionable claims.
This definition covers stocks and shares, growing crops, grass, and anything that is attached to or
comprises a portion of land. In particular, shares are listed as goods. Nonetheless, the Customer
Protection Act does not consider a potential investor to be a “consumer”. In light of this, “goods” refers
to any transportable item other than currency. Every type of moveable property is considered “goods”
under CPA 2019 Section 2(21), and this definition includes “food” as specified in clause (j) of sub-
section (1) of Section 3 of the Food Safety and Standards Act, 2006.

• In Morgan Stanley Mutual Fund v. Kartik Das (1994) 3 CLJ 27, the Supreme Court held that
an application for allotment of shares cannot constitute goods. It is after allotment, rights may
arise as per the articles of association of the company. At the stage of application, there is no
purchase of goods for consideration and again the purchaser cannot be called the hirer of
services for consideration.

DEFECT IN GOODS

A defect in goods is defined as any flaw, imperfection, or shortcoming in the quantity, potency, purity,
or standard that is required to be maintained by or under any law currently in force or [under any
contract, express or implied or] as is claimed by the trader in any manner whatsoever concerning any
goods; for instance, if a customer purchases a mobile phone from a dealer and discovers later that the
phone is not functioning properly, the customer may file a complaint under the category of “defective
product” in the consumer forum against the retailer and manufacturer. When it comes to electric
appliances, the trader is required to uphold the promised criteria of quality, quantity, etc. the products
that do not meet the obligatory ISI mark are deemed faulty.

SPURIOUS GOODS AND SERVICES

Spurious goods and services refer to counterfeit or fake products and services that mimic genuine ones
but are of inferior quality or unauthorized. These items are designed to deceive consumers by imitating
popular brands, trademarks, or services. This illegal practice can have serious consequences for both
consumers and legitimate businesses.
• Counterfeit goods - These are fake replicas of branded products, often sold at lower prices to
deceive consumers. Counterfeit goods can include clothing, accessories, electronics,
pharmaceuticals, and more.
• Fake services - Some services may be advertised fraudulently, such as fake repair services,
financial scams, or false promises of job opportunities. These services may either not exist at
all or fail to deliver on their promises.
• Inferior Quality Products - Some products may resemble legitimate items but are of inferior
quality. They may break easily, not function as intended, or even pose safety hazards to
consumers. These fake products may not meet safety standards and can pose risks to consumers.
• Misleading advertising - Spurious goods and services are often marketed using deceptive
advertising tactics. This can include false claims about the product's effectiveness, benefits, or
origin.
• Online scams - With the rise of e-commerce, online scams have become prevalent. Consumers
may unknowingly purchase spurious goods from illegitimate websites or sellers operating on
online marketplaces.

SERVICE

Any kind of service that is made accessible to potential customers is referred to as a "service," and this
includes banking, financing, building houses, insurance, entertainment, transportation, the provision of
energy, including electricity, boarding and lodging, and amusement. The requirements of the Consumer
Protection Act cover the services of physicians, engineers, architects, attorneys, and other professionals;
however, they do not encompass services provided for free or under a personal service agreement. A
master-servant relationship is included in a contract of personal service, although it is not covered by
the CPA.

• In State of Haryana v. Santra [2000(3) SCALE 417], the Supreme Court held that in a country
where the population has been increasing rapidly and the Government has taken up family
planning as an important program, the medical officer as also the State Government must be
held responsible in damages if the family planning operation is a failure on account of the
medical officers' negligence because this has created an additional burden on the parents of the
child.

DEFICIENCY IN SERVICE

Deficiency in Service refers to any flaw, imperfection, deficiency, or insufficiency in the quality, nature,
and manner of performance that has been committed to by an individual following a contract or
otherwise concerning any service, and that is required to be maintained by or under any law currently
in force. Under CPA, 2019 deficiency in services includes:
• Any act of negligence omission or commission by such person that causes loss or injury to the
consumer
• Purposeful withholding of pertinent information from the customer by such a person.
'Deficiency in service' includes, for instance, incidents of medical negligence, insurance, and
non-delivery of possession by the builder, such as when the bank incorrectly debits money
from the customer's account. When the complainant's energy supply was abruptly and
unlawfully cut off, it was determined that there was a service deficit.

In Punjab National Bank v. K.B. Shetty (First Appeal No. 7 of 1991 decided on 6th August, 1991)
ornaments kept in the bank locker were found lost though the certificate recorded by the custodian of
the bank on the day the customer operated the locker stated that all lockers operated during the day have
 been checked and found properly locked. The National Commission upholding the decision of the state
commission, held the bank guilty of negligence and therefore, liable to make good the loss.

UNFAIR TRADE PRACTICES

A fraudulent, dishonest, or deceptive trading practice or business misrepresentation of the goods or

services being sold that is forbidden by law, has been the subject of legal action, or is determined by a
court ruling is referred to as an unfair trade practice. UTP is defined as a trade activity that uses any
unfair technique or unfair or deceptive conduct to promote the sale, use, or supply of goods or services
under Section 2(1) (r) of the Consumer Protection Act, 1986. CPA, 2019 has extended the definition of
unfair trade practice to include all oral, writing, and electronic records that adopt any unfair method or
unfair or deceptive practice and include any of the following practices:
• Misleading statement
• False offer of bargain price
• Offering of gifts/prizes
• Non-Compliance of Standards
• Not issuing bills or cash memo
• Refusing after selling goods or rendering services

RESTRICTIVE TRADE PRACTICES

Trade practices that have the potential to manipulate prices, delivery terms, or the flow of goods and
services in the market to impose unwarranted costs or restrictions on consumers are referred to as
restrictive trade practices. These practices include:

i.delaying the supply of goods or services beyond the time frame that a trader has agreed upon, which
has resulted in or is likely to result in price increases;

ii.any business activity that implies the purchase, employment, or use of any goods or services by a
customer to purchase, hire, or use additional goods or services
Restrictive trade practices such as manipulating market circumstances to drive up the price of goods are
widespread. Common restrictive trade methods include storing products, hoarding them to create
artificial scarcity in the markets, and then selling them at outrageous costs. Consumers in rural
marketplaces with only one pharmacist or kirana shop must often pay higher costs because there aren't
many other stores nearby. It is a restrictive trade practice for a gas distributor to require one of its
customers to purchase a gas cooker for them to have a gas connection.

CONSUMER RIGHTS

Right to Safety: The right to safety is listed by the CPA as the first consumer right. This is a right to
protection against the marketing of products and services that endanger property and human life. In
addition to satisfying their current requirements, the products and services they buy should also serve
their long-term goals. Customers should demand to see the goods and service’s quality, bill, guarantee,
and warranty before making a purchase. They should choose high-quality items with labels, and
carefully read the information before making a purchase. Checking ISI, AGMARK, Hallmark, FSSAI,
and BEE marks is a consumer responsibility. Investing in an energy-efficient electronic gadget can
lower the power expense for the user. Numerous accidents are caused by subpar construction materials,
tainted food, faulty electrical appliances, and unsanitary facilities. Earlier, the interpretation of the right
to safety was limited to electrical products but now it includes services also. Therefore, one should do
a market survey before purchasing, always buy from a reputable shop, and take a bill of the commodity.

2. Right to Information: It refers to the consumer’s right to information about the standard, cost,
potency, purity, quantity, and quality of products to shield them from deceptive business tactics. Before
making a purchase customers should insist on receiving all available information on the good or service
from the retailer, dealer, or manufacturer. They would be able to stop succumbing to high-pressure sales
tactics and act sensibly and responsibly as a result. Manufacturers may lower their product quantities
while maintaining the same price, leading many customers who just look at the price to purchase goods
in the mistaken belief that they are receiving the same number. Six items should be carefully examined
by consumers while reading a label: the brand name, manufacturer’s recommended retail price (MRP),
quantity, best before or expiration date, ingredients, and manufacturer's toll-free number. Customers
occasionally have dietary allergies in these situations, so reading the label is quite beneficial. The Right
to Information Act was passed by the Indian government in 2005. This act guarantees the accuracy of
all information on the operations of government agencies. It can be a useful tool to shield customers
from unfair business practices by manufacturers.

3. Right to Choice: It denotes the right to have access to a range of products and services at
reasonable prices. Wherever practicable. It refers to the right to be guaranteed acceptable quality and
service at a reasonable cost in the situation of monopolies. It also covers the entitlement to affordable,
fundamental goods and services. In a market that is competitive and offers a wide range of goods at
competitive costs, this right may be better exercised. The manufacturer is responsible for ensuring that
customer service centres, dependable after-sales support, and spare parts are readily available. Customer
satisfaction is the foundation of the right to choose. If a customer does not like a brand, they have a
powerful tool at their disposal to boycott the items. This right is routinely impacted in the case of rural
customers, where there is only one store offering necessities and a limited selection of brands.

4. Right to Heard: Consumers have the right to be heard and represented in matters affecting their
interests. It implies that the interests of the customer should be given proper weight in the relevant
forums. Customers should report any suspicions they may have had of being deceived by the
manufacturer’s dishonest business practices to the vendor or retailer from whom they purchased the
item or service. It also covers the right to speak up in several forums established with the welfare of the
consumer in mind. The Consumer should form non-political and non-commercial consumer
organizations which can be given representation in various committees formed by the Government and
other bodies in matters relating to consumers.

5. Right to Seek Redressal: Consumers have the right to seek redressal and compensation for any
harm, injury, or loss suffered as a result of defective products, poor service quality, or unfair trade
practices. This refers to the freedom to file a complaint about unethical business activities or the
deceptive exploitation of customers. It also covers the right to a just settlement of the customer’s
legitimate complaints. Customers who have valid complaints must file them. Often their grievance may
seem insignificant, but it may have a significant effect on society as a whole. To get their complaints
addressed, they might also enlist the aid of consumer associations. Customers from around the nation
can get telephone counselling for issues they have as consumers related to different sectors by calling
the short code 14404 or the toll-free number 1800-11-4000. Both Hindi and English are supported
languages for the service. Consumer Commission, which operates at the national state, and district
levels in India, is a type of redressal mechanism established under the Consumer Protection Act. Only
40% of customers are aware of how to seek redress in the event of a consumer issue, according to an
ASSOCHAM report.

6. Right to Consumer Education: An aware consumer is an asset for any society. The concept
refers to educating others and being aware of our rights as consumers. Consumers have the right to
access information, resources, and education programs that empower them to make informed decisions
in the marketplace. In this sense, consumer associations, consumer awareness camps, radio and
television programs, consumer clubs, workshops, and conferences are crucial. The primary cause of
their exploitation is customer ignorance, especially among rural consumers. Consumers must be aware
of and make use of their rights only then can successful consumer protection be accomplished. While
the remaining two consumer rights are crucial, particularly for developing countries like India, the
Consumer Protection Act exclusively addresses the first six rights. Since the preservation of these rights
is covered by other laws that are overseen by the Ministers of Environment and Forests and Health and
Family Welfare, the final two rights are not covered by the Consumer Preservation Act.

7. Right to Basic Needs: The necessities of life for a consumer are access to food, water, and
shelter. Life is impossible without these necessities. The guarantees of every other right are rendered
useless when an individual is deprived of their fundamental necessities. For people to live normal lives,
the UN has granted developing nations the right to necessities, which is an essential right.

8. Right to a Healthy Environment: Worldwide, the declining standard of living is perceived as a

threat that must be met by environmental protection. Food laced with pesticides, tainted milk, tripping
exhaust fumes from moving cars- all of these things affect us. Because of the high rate of illness among
children brought on by contaminated settings, customers experience pain and higher health costs. Due
to a contaminated atmosphere and other circumstances, significant resources and man-hours are lost.
Customers must comprehend that the realization of their rights can only be guaranteed in a safe
atmosphere.

ORGANISATION SET UP UNDER CONSUMER PROTECTION ACT

Under this we are going to understand the following:

What are consumer protection councils?
What are their objectives?
What are different levels of consumer forum?
What powers are enjoyed by them?
What are the advisory and adjudicatory bodies established under the Consumer Protection Act?
Let's start..
Above mentioned rights and protection act have no use if no one is even aware of it. Then the question
arises who is going to inform the consumer about their rights? How do consumers know they got
exploited?

This is what the Consumer Protection councils are formed of. Chapter II of the Consumer Protection
Act 1986 comprising Section 4 to 8 deals with Consumer Protection Councils. It is said that The
interests of consumers are sought to be promoted and protected under the Act inter alia by establishment
of Consumer Protection Councils at the Central, State and District Levels.

ADVISORY BODIES

CENTRAL CONSUMER PROTECTION COUNCIL

ESTABLISHMENT
Section 4 empowers the Central Government to establish a Council to be known as the Central
Consumer Protection Council. It is a regulatory authority set up under Section 10 (1) of the Consumer
Protection Act, 2019 in relation to matters affecting rights of consumers by individuals or entities
following improper trade practices or by display of inappropriate or wrong advertisements affecting
public interest and helps promote consumer trust by enforcing the rights of consumers through effective
guidelines.

MEMBERSHIP & MEETING

It consists of the Minister in charge of Consumer Affairs in the Central Government, as its Chairman,
and a number of other official or non-official members representing such interests as may be prescribed.
However, the consumer protection Rules, 1987 restrict the number of members of the Central Council
to 150 members.
Section-5 of the Act requires the Central Council to meet as and when necessary, but at least once in
every year.

POWERS
The Central Consumer Protection Council has several powers, including investigating consumer rights
violations and unfair trade practices, ordering investigation by District Collector or Director General,
directing recalls of dangerous goods or services, and engaging in consumer advocacy.
The Council can also impose penalties on traders or manufacturers for misleading advertisements and
prevent endorsers from making such advertisements for up to one year.
The commission can also order the recall of dangerous goods or services, refund proceeds, and stop
unfair trade practices after giving the person an opportunity to be heard.
It can also prevent the endorsement of misleading advertisements for up to three years in case of
subsequent contravention.

STATE CONSUMER PROTECTION COUNCIL

ESTABLISHMENT
Section-7 provides for the establishment of State Consumer Protection Councils by any State
Government ( by notification ) to be known as Consumer Protection Council for ( name of the State ).

MEMBERSHIP & MEETING

It shall consist of a minister in-charge of Consumer Affairs in the State Government as its Chairman
and such number of other official or non-official members representing such interests as may be
prescribed by the State Government and such number of other official or non-official members, not
exceeding ten, as may be nominated by the Central Government.
The State Council shall meet as and when necessary but not less than two meetings shall be held every
year. The procedure to be observed in regard to the transaction of its business at such meetings shall be
prescribed by the State Government.

POWER
At the state level, they make rules guiding in promotion and protection of consumer rights.

DISTRICT CONSUMER PROTECTION COUNCIL

ESTABLISHMENT
In order to promote the rights of the consumers within the district, section 8A provides for establishment
in every district of council to be known as the District Consumer Protection Council.

MEMBERS AND MEETING

It shall consist of the collector of the district who shall be its Chairman and 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.

ADJUDICATORY BODIES (CPA, 2019)

NATURE AND SCOPE OF REMEDIES AVAILABLE TO CONSUMER
If there any disputes arise between consumer and seller, the very simple, speedy and inexpensive
redressal of this consumer’s grievances, the Act provides three-tier quasi-judicial machinery at the
District, State and National levels.

The Govt. has notified the rules for Consumer Protection (Jurisdiction of the District Commission, the
State Commission and the National Commission) Rules, 2021. As per the rules revised pecuniary
jurisdiction for entertaining consumer complaints in respect of goods and services paid as consideration
shall be up to i) 50 lakhs for District Commissions; ii) More than 50 lakh to 2 Crore for State
Commissions and iii) More than 2 Crore for National Commission.

As per the existing provisions of the Act, District Commissions have jurisdiction to entertain complaints
where value of the goods or services paid as consideration does not exceed one crore rupees. State
Commissions have jurisdiction to entertain complaints where value of the goods or services paid as
consideration, exceeds 1 crore rupees, but does not exceed 10 crore rupees and National Commission
has jurisdiction to entertain complaints where value of goods or services paid as consideration exceeds
10 crore rupees.

Who can file a Complaint? (Section-12)

1. The Consumer
2. Any recognized consumer association
3. One or more consumer
4. The Central or the State Government

What Complaints may be lodged? (Section-2(1) (c))

Complaint may relate to one or more of the following:
1. Unfair Trade Practice by Trader or Service Provider
2. Goods bought or agreed to bought suffer from one or more defects
3. Services availed or agreed to availed have deficiency
4. Trader charges higher than the original price
5. Goods hazardous to health offer to sale to the public
6. Services which are hazardous or likely to be hazardous to life and safety of the public when used.

Where to file the Complaint?

1. If value of goods & services and Compensation up to Rs.50 Lakh, the Complaint can be filed in
District Forum within the local limits of whose jurisdiction the opposite party actually reside or
carries their business.
2. If value of goods or services and compensation exceed Rs.50 lakhs but within Rs.2 crore, the
complaint can be filed in State Commission
3. If Value of Goods or Services and compensation is over Rs.2 Crores, Then the Complaints can be
filed in National Commission.

How to File the Complaint?

Complaints should be addressed to the President of the Forum/Commission.
Complaint should contain;
1. The name, description and address of the complainant
2. The name, description and address of the Opposite Party.
3. The facts related to complaints and time & place where it arise
4. Document, to support the claim, if any
5. The relief which is seeking
Procedure on Receipt of Complaint
CASE-1 Where defect in goods are not required any testing
1. The District forum refers the copy of complaint, within 21 days, from the date of its admission to
the opposite party. On which opposite party is directed to give his version of the case within 30
days ( with extend up to 15 days)
2. Action were taken according to the reaction of the opposite party and dispute get redress

CASE-2 Where defect in goods requires analysis or testing

1. The District forum take the sample of goods and send it for the testing to the respected laboratory,
within the time period of 45 days, for checking if there is any defect really exist,
2. Before sending the sample of goods to the laboratory for testing, the District Forum has to pay
fees.
3. After getting the result of testing the District forum sends the copy of the result with a copy of
the complaint to the opposite party.
4. If opposite party have any objection regarding the testing process or method, then they have to
submit it in writing
5. Thereafter equal opportunity given to both the parties to put their version.

Above we see how the whole process takes place now we are going to learn about the Adjudicatory
Bodies.

DISTRICT FORUM
Section-9 of the Act provides for the establishment of a District Forum by the State Government in each
district of the State. However, the State Government may establish more than one District Forum in a
district if it deems fit to do so.

Composition
Each District Forum shall consist of:
1. President
2. Two other members, one of whom shall be a woman.
Qualification for President of District Forum
Only a person who is, or has been, or is qualified to be a District Judge can be appointed President of
a District Forum.
Qualification for Members of District Forum
The Person should be-
a. Be not less than thirty-five years of age,
b. Possess a bachelor’s degree from a recognized university,
c. Be a person of ability, integrity and standing, and have adequate knowledge and experience of
at least 10 years in dealing with the problems relating to economics, law, commerce, accountancy,
industry, public affairs or administration.
Disqualifications:
The person disqualified if he-
a. Has been convicted and sentenced to imprisonment for an offence which, in the opinion of the
State Government , involves moral turpitude; or
b. Is an undischarged insolvent; or
c. Is of unsound mind and stands so declared by a competent court; or
d. has been removed or dismissed from the service of the Government or a body corporate owned
or controlled by the Government; 0r
e. has, in the opinion of the State Government, such financial or other interest as is likely to affect
prejudicially the discharge by him of his functions as a member; or
f. Has such other disqualification as may be prescribed by the State Government.
JURISDICTION OF DISTRICT FORUM
Section-11 provides for the jurisdiction of the district forum under two criteria pecuniary and territorial.

Pecuniary Limits
Section-11(1) empowers the District Forum to entertain Companies complaints where the value of
goods or services and the compensation, if any, claimed does not exceed rupees twenty lakhs.

Territorial Limits
Section-11(2) requires a complaint shall be instituted in the District Forum within the local limit of
whose jurisdiction,-
a. The opposite party or each of the opposite parties, where there are more than one, at the time
of the institution of the complaint, actually and voluntarily resides or carries on business or has a branch
office or personally works for gain, or
b. Any of the opposite parties, where there are more than one, at the time of the institution of the
complaint, actually and voluntarily resides, or carries on business or has a branch office, or personally
works for gain, provided that in such case either the permission of the District Forum is given, or the
opposite parties who do not reside, or carry on business or have a branch office, or personally work for
gain, as the case may be, acquiesce in such institution; or
c. The cause of action, wholly or in part, arises.

STATE COMMISSION
Composition
Each State Commission shall consist of-
a. President
b. Not less than two other members and not more than such number of members, as may be
prescribed, and one of whom shall be a woman.

Qualification for President of State Commission

President of the State Commission shall be a person who is or has been a judge of a High Court and
shall be appointed by the State Government after consultation with the chief Justice of the High Court.

Qualification for Members

Members shall have the following qualification:
a. Be not less than 35 years of age;
b. Possess a bachelor’s degree from a recognized university;
c. Be a person of ability, integrity and standing, and have adequate knowledge and experience of
at least 10 years in dealing with the problems relating to economics, law, commerce, accountancy,
industry, public affairs or administration.
Disqualifications:
The person disqualified if he-
a. Has been convicted and sentenced to imprisonment for an offence which, in the opinion of the
State Government , involves moral turpitude; or
b. Is an undischarged insolvent; or
c. Is of unsound mind and stands so declared by a competent court; or
d. has been removed or dismissed from the service of the Government or a body corporate owned
or controlled by the Government; 0r
e. has, in the opinion of the State Government, such financial or other interest as is likely to affect
prejudicially the discharge by him of his functions as a member; or
f. Has such other disqualification as may be prescribed by the State Government.

JURISDICTION OF STATE COMMISSION

Section-17 of the Act provides for the jurisdiction of the Commission as follow:
Which Complaints Can Be Filed With The State Commission?
 a. The State Commission can entertain companies where the value of the goods or services and
the compensation, if any claimed exceed rupees twenty lakhs but does not exceed rupees one crore;
b. The State Commission also has the jurisdiction to entertain appeals against the orders of any
District Forum within the State. However, under second proviso to Section-15 no appeal a person,
who is required to pay any amount in terms of an order of the District Forum, shall be entertained
by the State Commission unless the appellant has deposited in the prescribed manner fifty percent
of the amount or rupees twenty-five thousand, whichever is less;
c. The State Commission also has the power to call for the records and pass appropriate orders in
any consumer dispute which is pending before or has been decided by any District Forum within the
State, if it appears to it that such District Forum has exercised any power not vested in it by law or has
failed to exercise a power rightfully vested in it by law or has acted illegally or with material irregularity.

Where to File the Complaint?

A complaint shall be instituted in a State Commission within the limits of whose jurisdiction:
a. The opposite party or each of the opposite parties, where there are more than one, at the time
of the institution of the complaint, actually and voluntarily resides or carries on business or has a branch
office or personally works for gain; or
b. Any of the opposite parties, where there are more than one , at the time of the institution of the
complaint, actually and voluntarily resides, or carries on business or has a branch office or personally
works for gain, provided that in such case either the permission of the State Commission is given or the
opposite parties who do not reside or carry on business or have a branch office or personally works for
gain, as the case may be, acquiesce in such institution; or
c. The cause of action, wholly or in part, arises.

TRANSFER OF CASES
Section-17A empowers the State Commission on the application of the companies or of the own motion
to transfer, at any stage of the proceedings, any complaint pending before the District Forum to another
District Forum within the State if the interest of justice so requires.

NATIONAL COMMISSION
Composition
Each National Commission shall consist of-
a. President; and
b. Not less than four and not more than such number of members, as may be prescribed, and one
of whom shall be a woman.

Qualification for President of National Commission

Only a person, who is or has been a Judge of the Supreme Court, shall be appointed as the President
of the National Commission.
The President shall be appointed by the Central Government after consultation with the Chief Justice
of India.

Qualification for Members of National Commission

Members shall have the following qualification:
a. Be not less than 35 years of age;
b. Possess a bachelor’s degree from a recognized university;
c. Be a person of ability, integrity and standing, and have adequate knowledge and experience of
at least 10 years in dealing with the problems relating to economics, law, commerce, accountancy,
industry, public affairs or administration.
However not more than fifty percent of the members shall be from amongst the persons having a
judicial background i.e, having knowledge and experience for at least a period of ten years as a
presiding officer at the district level court or any tribunal at equivalent level.
Disqualifications:
The person disqualified if he-
 a. Has been convicted and sentenced to imprisonment for an offence which, in the opinion of the
Central Government , involves moral turpitude; or
b. Is an undischarged insolvent; or
c. Is of unsound mind and stands so declared by a competent court; or
d. has been removed or dismissed from the service of the Government or a body corporate owned
or controlled by the Government; 0r
e. has, in the opinion of the Central Government, such financial or other interest as is likely to
affect prejudicially the discharge by him of his functions as a member; or
f. Has such other disqualification as may be prescribed by the Central Government.

JURISDICTION OF NATIONAL COMMISSION

Section-21 provides that the National Commission shall have jurisdiction:
a. To entertain companies where the value of the goods or services and the compensation, If any
claimed exceeds rupees one crore;
b. To entertain appeals against the orders of any State Commission. However under second
proviso to Section-19 no appeal by a person, who is required to pay any amount in terms of an order of
the State Commission, shall be entertained by the National Commission unless the appellant has
deposited in the prescribed manner fifty percent of the amount or rupees thirty-five thousands,
whichever is less; and
c. To call for the records and pass appropriate orders in any consumer dispute which is pending
before or has been decided by any State Commission has exercised a jurisdiction not vested in it by law,
or has failed to exercise a jurisdiction so vested, or has acted in the exercise of its jurisdiction illegally
or with material irregularity.

COMPLAINTS TO BE REGISTERED
(currently)
District Consumer Forum For a claim of compensation up to Rs.50 Lakhs

State Commission For a claim of compensation above Rs.50 lakhs and

up to Rs.2 crore

National Commission For a claim of compensation above Rs.2 Crore

ROLE OF SUPREME COURT UNDER THE CONSUMER PROTECTION ACT

The Supreme Court has ruled that the provisions of the CPA should be interpreted broadly, positively,
and purposefully. The court has also ruled that a person who buys goods for resale or for use in large-
scale profit-making activity is not a "consumer" entitled to protection under the CPA.
Here are some other roles of the Supreme Court under the CPA:
• The court may dismiss an appeal summarily.
• The court may direct notice to be issued to all necessary parties.
• The court may make other orders as the circumstances of the case require.
• A fixed court fee of Rs.250 must be paid on the petition.

An appeal to the Supreme Court or the National Commission from an order of the National Commission
or the State Commission respectively has to be filed within thirty (30) days from the date of the order.
Some Landmark Judgements by Supreme Court on Consumer Protection Laws:
• In Karnataka Power Transmission Corporation v Ashok Iron Works Private Limited, the
appellant corporation argued that the complaint filed by the respondent was not maintainable
due to the exclusion of a company from the definition of 'person' under section 2(1)(m) of the
Consumer Protection Act, 1986 (CPA). The court rejected this contention, citing the English
Court decision in Dilworth v Commissioner of Stamps and its own in Reserve Bank of India v
Peerless General Finance and Investment Company Limited. The court also noted that the
definition of 'person' was inclusive and not exhaustive, and that 'any person' mentioned in the
definition of 'consumer' in section 2(1)(d) would include a company. The court also held that
the amendment to the CPA effective from 15 March 2003, excluding services availed of for
commercial purposes, was not applicable to this case since the controversy related to a prior
period. The court also held that the supply of electricity by the corporation to a consumer was
not a sale of goods within section 2(1)(d) of the CPA, as 'service' under section 2(1)(o) meant
service of any description, including the provision of facilities in connection with supply of
electrical or other energy.

• Indian Medical Association vs V.P. Shantha & Ors on 13 November, 1995 In this Landmark
case the issue of whether medical practitioners fall under the definition of ‘service’ under the
Consumer Protection Act, 1986 was clarified by the Supreme Court. The medical practitioners
said that since they are governed by the provisions of the Indian Medical Council Act, 1956
and the Code of Medical Ethics made by the Medical Council of India, as approved by the
Government of India under Section-3 of the Indian Medical Council Act,1956 which regulates
their conduct as members of the medical profession and provides for disciplinary action by the
Medical Council of India and/or state Medical Councils against a person for professional
misconduct, they should not fall under the definition of ‘service’ in Sec 2(1) (o) the Consumer
Protection act, 1986. A three-Judge Bench of Supreme Court held that service rendered to a
patient by a medical practitioner by way of consultation, diagnosis, and treatment, both
medicinal and surgical, would fall within the ambit of ‘service’ as defined in Section 2(1) (o)
of the Consumer Protection Act, 1986. Deficiency in service has to be judged by applying the
test of reasonable skill and care which is applicable in action for damages for negligence.

• Sehgal School of Competition v. Dalbir Singh, on 10 December 2009

The district forum directed the petitioner to refund half of the fees to Dalbir Singh to the tune
of Rs. 18, 734. However, no compensation was made for mental agony, cost of litigation, and
harassment which caused him to approach the district forum.
The state commission held that “We have already taken a view which has been upheld by the
National Commission and the same view was also taken by the Supreme court that no institute
or coaching centre shall charge lump sum fees for the whole duration or should refund the fees
if service is deficient in the quality or coaching etc. or for which period the student does not
attend coaching as any clause saying that fees once paid shall not be refunded are
unconscionable and unfair and therefore not enforceable.”
The district forum also determined that the petitioner’s appeal lacked merit and dismissed it.
Also, because the respondent did not request higher compensation, no order was issued.

• Ranju Aery vs SpiceJet Ltd. In this case, the complainant and her family members purchased
the air tickets online, through the internet from Chandigarh for holiday to Bagdogra. It is booked
through Yatra.com. The return tickets also were booked from Bagdogra to Kolkata and the
connecting flight of the appellant was from Kolkata to New Delhi. At the time of their return
journey, they were informed at Kolkata airport that their flight got cancelled. The alternative
flight was not offered and even staff were non-cooperative. At the end applicants have to
arrange money to book another flight and take a bus from New Delhi to Chandigarh. Where
they filed the Complaint in Chandigarh’s District forum against SpiceJet Ltd. But rejected and
asked to go to Gurugram's District Forum to claim as the place of business of the company was
in Gurugram. The NCDRC in its order rejected the argument and found the company guilty of
 cancelling her flight without reason when that day 128 flights took off from Kolkata without
any delay. The NCDRC noted that the airlines gave no explanation for cancellation and failed
to make any alternative arrangements. Besides the compensation, the NCDRC directed the
airline to refund the consumer Ticket price with the interest at the rate of 9% after deducting
the airfare between Kolkata and Delhi. The Company was also to compensate rs.10,000 towards
litigation cost. Further, the Supreme Court found no reason to interfere with the National
Commission’s order.

CONCLUSION
The Consumer Protection Act, works as the saviour for the Consumer. This act not only listed the rights
of the consumer but also instructed to set up the advisory and adjudicatory bodies. Which promote and
protect the rights of the consumer as well as redressal their dispute. Consumers got fair judgement with
appropriate compensation in any dispute. The procedure to make a complaint is very simple and if
consumers are not satisfied with the judgement they go for higher authority. This Act helps to reduce
the unfair trade practice in the market.
These all bodies mentioned in the Act helps to achieve the objects of the Consumer Protection Act, the
National Commission has also been conferred with the powers of administrative control over all the
State Commission by calling for periodical returns regarding the institution, disposal and pendency of
case.
Functioning of District Forum, State Commission and National Commission is consumer friendly, and
a consumer can file a complaint and also address an argument in person without engaging a lawyer.
UNIT 3

Grievance Redressal Mechanism under Consumer Protection Act, 1986

Introduction

In order to get their grievances redressed consumers must file complain with the appropriate forum. But
before filing the complaint, one should know who can file complain, what are the grounds for filing the
complaint, the time frame within which complain must be filed etc.

Who Can File A Complaint?

The below mentioned people can file complaint with appropriate forum under Consumer Protection
Act, 1986:
• A consumer.
• The central or any state government.
• Any recognized voluntary consumer association (it does not matter whether the consumer is a
member of such an association or not).
• A group of consumers can file complaint together if they have the same interest.
• In case of death of a consumer, the legal heir can also file the complaint.

Grounds of Filing A Complaint

A consumer can file complaint regarding any of the following:
• Restrictive or unfair trade practice being adopted by the trader or service provider.
• Consumers suffer from one or more defects from a good either purchased or agreed to bought.
• Services hired or availed of, agreed to be hired or availed of, suffer from any deficiency in
respect thereof.
• If the price charged is in excess of the price either fixed by the law for the time being in force
or displayed on the goods or package or displayed on the price list or agreed between the parties.
• If the goods are either hazardous or likely to be hazardous to the life and safety of people when
used.

Where Should the Complaint be Filed?

The place where the complaint should be filed depends upon the compensation claimed.
• If the value of compensation claimed does not exceed 1 crore rupees then, it can be filed at
district forum.
• If the value of compensation claimed exceeds 1 crore rupees but does not exceed ten crore
rupees then, it can be filed with state commission.
• If the value of compensation exceeds ten crore rupees then, it can be filed before the national
commission.

Complaint can be filed or made in person or by any authorized agent or by post. The complaint can be
written on a plain paper but it should be duly supported by documentary evidence in support of the
allegation made in the complaint. The complaint should also contain the name, description and address
of the complainant as well as that of the opposite party against whom the complaint is being filed
alongwith this the facts relating to complaint for instance- when and where did it arose. Further, the
complaint should clearly specify the relief the complainant desires.

The Reliefs Available to Consumers

The kind of relief that is available to consumers depends to a great extent on the nature of complaint
and the facts of the case. In general, the following reliefs are available to the complainant:
• Removal of defect from the good or deficiency in service.
• Replacement of the defective product.
• Refund of the price paid for that particular product.
• Awarding compensation for the loss or injury suffered.
• Withdrawal of hazardous goods from market so that they are no longer sold into the market.
• Discontinuing the unfair or restrictive trade practice and trying that such an activity is not being
repeated.
• Providing adequate relief to the aggrieved party.

A complaint can be filed by the consumer within 2 years from the date of purchase.However, In certain
cases it can be filed even after the expiry of two years time frame if the valid reason is given for such
a delay.

Every complaint should be solved at the earliest usually a time period of three months is given from the
date of notice recieved by the opposite party. But in cases where complaint requires laboratory testing
of the goods, the time frame is increased or extended from three months to five months.

Procedure for Filing the Complaint

The procedure of filing the complaint and seeking redressal is as follows:

• The aggrieved party or his/her authorized agent can file the complaint in person. The filing of
complaint is to be accompanied by prescribed amount payable as fee.
• On receipt of complaint under sub-section 12(1), the district forum may either accept or reject
the complaint on certain grounds.
• On the admission of complaint related to any good, the district forum shall:

(a) Refer a copy of admitted complaint to the opposite party mentioned in the complaint (that too
within a period of twenty two days from the date of its admission), directing him or her to give his/her
version of the case within a period of thirty days (in special cases an extended period of fifteen days is
given).

(b) If the opposite party fails to represent their version of the case, then the district forum shall
proceed to settle the consumer dispute (as specified in clause (c) or (g)). As per clause (c), if the
complaint alleges a defect in the good which cannot be determined without laboratory testing, the
district forum shall obtain a sample of the good from complainant, seal it and send it for testing with a
direction that reports shall be submitted within a period of forty five days of receipt of the reference or
within such extended period as may be granted by the district forum. As per clause d, the complainant
is required to deposit to the credit of the forum an amount to be paid to appropriate laboratory for
carrying out the analysis or test. On the receipt of test reports, the district forum shall forward the copy
of the report alongwith its remark to the opposite party. If any of the parties disputes the correctness of
the findings or test, then the district forum requires either of the party to submit their objection in writing
and the district forum thereafter may give reasonable opportunity to be heard and then issue appropriate
order under section 14(2).

• In case a complaint related to goods cannot be filed under 12(1) or if the complaint is related to
the services, then, the district forum shall:

(a) Refer a copy of the complaint to the opposite party directing the party to give its version of the
case within a period of thirty days with an extention of only 15 days if the court grants.
(b) In case the opposite party fails to represent its version of the case then, the district forum
shall proceed to settle the dispute.
(I) on the basis of evidence brought to its notice by the complaint and the opposite party, where the
opposite party denies or disputes the a allegations contained in the complaint or
(ii) ex-parte on the basis of evidence brought to its notice by the complainant when the opposite party
omits or fails to take any action to represent his case within time given by the forum. Where the
complaint it fails to appear on of hearing before the district forum, the district forum may either dismiss
the complaint for default or decide it on merit.

Every complaint shall be heard as expeditiously as possible and efforts should be made to decide on the
complaint within a period of three months from the date of res of notice by opposite party. In case the
complaint does not require analysis or test of commodities then, it should be solved within five months,
and in case it required analysis of testing of commodities; Provided that no adjournment shall be
ordinary granted by the district forum unless sufficient cause is shown and the reasons for g of
adjournment have been recorded in writing by the forum; Provided further that for district forum shall
make such orders as to the costs occasioned by the adjournment may be provided in the regulations
made under this act; Provided also that in the event of a complaint being disposed of after the period so
specified, the district forum shall record in writing, the reasons for the same at the time of disposing of
the said complaint; (3B) Where during the pendency of any proceeding before the district forum, it
appears to it necessary, it may pass such interim order as is just and proper in the facts an circumstances
of the case.

(c) For the purpose of this section, the district forum shall have the same powers are vested in a
civil court under Code of Civil Procedure, 1908 (5 of 1908) while trying a suit in respect of the following
matters:
• the summoning and enforcing the attendance of any defendant or witness an examining the
witness on oath;
• the discovery and production of any document or other material object producible as evidence,

• the reception of evidence on affidavits;

• the requisitioning of the report of the concerned analysis or test from the appropriate laboratory
or from any other relevant source;
• issuing of any commission for the examination of any witness; and
• any other matter which may be prescribed.
(d) Every proceeding before the district forum shall be deemed to be a judicial proceeding within the
meaning of section 193 and 228 of the Indian Penal Code (45 of 1860), and the district forum shall be
deemed to be a civil court for the purpose of section 195,and Chapter XXVI of the Code of Criminal
Procedure, 1973 (2 of 1974).
(e) Where the complaint is a consumer referred to in sub-clause (iv) of clause (b) of sub-section (1) of
section 2, the provisions of rule 8 of order I of the first schedule to the Code of Civil Procedure 1908 (5
of 1908) shall apply subject to the modification that every reference there in to a suit or decree shall be
construed as a reference to a complaint or the order of the district forum thereon.
(f) In the event of death of a complainant who is a consumer or of the opposite party against whom the
complaint has been filed, the provisions of order.
(g) XXII of the first scheduled to the Code of Civil Procedure, 1908 (5 of 1908) shall apply subject to
the modification that every reference there in to the plaintiff and the defendant shall be construed as
reference to a complainant or the opposite party, as the case may be.

Temporary Injunction

Section 37 of Specific Relief Act, 1963 provides that “temporary injunction are such as are to continue
until a specified time, or until the further order of the court, and they may be granted at any stage of a
suit.

The procedure for seeking temporary injunction has been provided under order XXXIX of the Code of
Civil Procedure, 1908. However, an injunction being discretionary equitable relief cannot be granted
when equally efficacious relief is obtainable in any other usual mode or proceeding.

For instance: In Agricultural Produce Market Committee Case, the Hon’ble Apex Court held that, “a
temporary injunction can be granted only if the person seeking injunction has a concluded right, capable
of being enforced by way of injunction.”
CASES ON ELECTRICITY

Amit Products (India) Ltd. Vs. Chief Engineer (O & M) Circle & Anr. IV (2005) CPJ 30 (SC)

Facts

The appellant/complainant, Amit Products (India) Ltd. Was a company incorporated in India and
registered under the provisions of the Companies Act, 1956. It obtained Provisional Registration
Certificate as a small-scale industry from the Director of Companies of Government of Maharashtra.
The Director of the appellant company Shri Shridhar Nalekar filed an application for getting electricity
connection, which was rejected by the respondent Maharashtra State Electricity Board (MSEB). MSEB
insisted on clearance of all arrears of electricity charges payable by M/s Amar Amit Jalna Alloys Pvt.
Ltd., which was the previous consumer. The appellant company contended that they were not liable to
pay the electricity charges payable by M/s Amar Amit Jalna Alloys Pvt. Ltd. As the company was a
distinct and separate entity, which had nothing to do with M/s Amar Amit Jalna Alloys Pvt. Ltd.
However, MSEB rejected the contention and did not provide electricity to the appellant company.

Aggrieved with that the appellant company filed a writ petition before the Bombay High Court
requesting for power supply to its factory contending that it is a separate company situated at a separate
portion of the property and the insistence of the MSEB to pay the arrears of electricity charges to be
payable by M/s Amar Amit Jalna Alloys Pvt. Ltd. And the refusal to give supply wat arbitrary and
violative of Articles 14 and 19 (1) (g) of the Constitution.

The matter was elaborately considered by the High Court of Bombay and it was held that the appellant
company was seeking connection in respect of the same premises, by the same consumer under the
guise of separate corporate body and it was found that the appellant company was the very same
corporate entity which committed default in paying the electricity charges earlier. Thus it was held by
the Bombay High Court that the appellant company was not an independent entity having no concern
with the previous defaulter.

Aggrieved, appellant company filed an appeal before the Supreme Court. The company contended that
the directors and the shareholders of the company were different from that of the M/s Amar Amit Jalna
Alloys Pvt. Ltd., they had nothing to do with the present company, the whole corporate entity has been
changed and the respondent MSEB was bound to give connection without insisting for the payment of
electricity charges to be paid by M/s Amar Amit Jalna Alloys Pvt. Ltd.

Issue

The main issue involved in the case was whether the appellant company was the same corporate entity
as M/s Amar Amit Jalna Alloys Pvt. Ltd. And liable to pay the previous electricity charges or was it a
separate and distinct corporate entity having no previous liability?

Decision

The Supreme Court held that they were unable to accept the contention of the appellant company that
by changing the members of the Board of Directors of the company or by changing the shareholding
pattern, the company had undergone any change. The same company wanted the electricity connection
without making any payment towards the electricity charges payable by the previous consumer. The
matter was dealt in detail by the High Court and it was held that the appellant company was none other
than the sister concern of M/s Amar Amit Jalna Alloys Pvt. Ltd. And was representing the same
consumer who had committed the default and that Condition 23(b) of the Conditions of Miscellaneous
Charges for supply of electricity energy would apply to the appellant company. By change of directors
or by change of pattern of the shareholding, the appellant company was not really a different entity from
M/s Amar Amit Jalna Alloys Pvt. (India) Ltd. The reasons given in the previous judgment would apply
with all force against the present appellant company and the High Court had rightly dismissed the writ
petition filed by the appellant company. The Supreme Court did not find any reason to interfere with
the impugned judgment and the appeal was dismissed.

Haryana State Electricity Board vs. Bhagwat Prasad 1 (2005) CPJ 104 (NC)

Facts

The Respondent/Complainant Bhagwat Prasad was a consumer of Haryana State Electricity Board
(HSEB). He filed a complaint before the District Forum alleging deficiency in service on the part of
HSEB and alleged that the Board has wrongfully collected ₹62,874 from him. But the Electricity Board
contended that the complainant was involved in theft of electricity and the amount recovered from him
was justified to that extent. On the question of no theft of electricity, President and Members of the
District Forum were unanimous, but there was difference as to what should be done with the amount
recovered wrongfully. The President ordered that the amount recovered wrongfully be adjusted in future
bills apart from the direction that the entire account of the consumer be overhauled. But the other two
Members of the District Forum did not agree with the Electricity Board retaining the amount for future
adjustment and held that this amount should be refunded with interest at the rate at which Electricity
Board charged surcharge on unpaid amount of electricity charges..

The Haryana State Electricity Board (HSEB) filed an appeal before the State Commission, which
affirmed the majority judgment passed by the District Forum except for deleting the amount of
compensation. Again, the Haryana State Electricity Board (HSEB) made a revision petition before the
National Commission against the order of the State Commission.

Issue

Is there any ground for the National Commission to interfere with the majority view of the District
Forum as affirmed by the State Commission on refund of the amount with interest?

The National Commission after going through the case in detail upheld the majority decision of the
District Forum as affirmed by the State Commission and dismissed the Revision Petition. The National
Commission held that the District Forum in its majority decision has rightly ordered that the amount
should be refunded with interest at the rate at which the Electricity Board charged surcharge on unpaid
amount. Thus, upholding the orders, the National Commission further held that there was absolutely no
ground for them to 17 interfere with the concurrent findings of the fora below under Section 21 (b) of
the Consumer Protection Act, 1986.

Cases on Banking

Allahabad Bank vs. Ravindra Flour Mills Pvt. Ltd. 1 (2007) CPJ 60 (NC)

Facts

Complainant obtained cash credit limit of ₹60 lakhs in 1999 from Petitioner Bank. Complainant repaid
due amount in the account on 9.3.2000 and asked the Petitioner to issue ‘No Dues Certificate. The
Petitioner Bank charged 19,713 towards Penal interest @ two per cent from the complainant.
Complainant filed complaint seeking refund of penal interest charged. The District Forum allowed the
complaint. Appeal of the Petitioner Bank was dismissed by the State Commission. Against this
dismissal order Petitioner Bank filed Revision Petition before the National Commission.

Issues

Whether Bank is liable for deficiency in service for charging penal interest @ 2 per cent on the basis of
instructions contained in circular No. 3229 dated 9.12.1999?
Held

The National Commission rejected the contention of the petitioner bank whereby it contended that the
penal interest was charged on the basis of instruction contained in circular No. 3229 dated 9.12.1999
and hold that no copy of said circular was supplied to the respondent neither any notice was sent to the
respondents drawing their attention to the circular. In absence of supplying copy of said circular or
drawing attention of respondents through notice/letter thereto the Petitioner Bank was not legally
entitled to charge Penal interest at the said rate from the respondent.

OTHER LEADING CASES

Homeopath Practising Allopathy Commits Quackery, Hence Liable For Negligence Case

Poonam Verma vs. Ashwin Patel and Others [1986-1996 Consumer 2250 (NS)]

Issues Raised
Whether giving Allopathic treatment without possessing any degree or diploma in Allopathy is
negligence?
Gist
• Dr. Ashwin Patel, a registered Homeopath with Gujarat Homeopathic Medical Council, treated
Pramod Verma for viral fever and prescribed allopathic drugs, but when Vernia’s condition did not
improve he again prescribed Allopathic Drugs, this time for typhoid fever.
• When Verma did not respond to the treatment and his condition deteriorated, he was shifted to
a nursing home and then to Hinduja Hospital in an unconscious state, where he died after four hours.
• Poonam Verma, (widow of Pramod Verma) filed a complaint before the National Commission,
praying for compensation and damages to be paid to her by Dr. Patel and Dr. Rajiv Warty for their
negligence and carelessness in the treatment of her husband. Having dismissed her petition by the
National Commission, Poonam Verma then filed an appeal before the Supreme Court.

Outcome

• The Supreme Court allowed Poonam Verma’s appeal against Dr. Ashwin Patel by setting aside
the judgement of the National Commission. It agreed to her claim against Dr. Patel for ₹300,000
payable within three months. Poonam Verma was also entitled to costs quantified at 30,000.
• Dr. Patel, having practised in Allopathy, without being qualified, was guilty of negligence per
se. Furthermore, the Court asked the Medical Council of India to consider the feasibility of initiating
appropriate action against Dr. Patel for his having practised in Allopathic System of medicine without
being properly registered, and also without possessing the requisite qualifications in that system.
Matter Already Sub-Judice before Civil Court not Maintainable in Consumer Foras Case
Title
Proprietor, Jabalpur Tractors vs. Sedmal Jainarain and Others [1986-1996 Consumer, 2432 (NS))
Issues Raised
Can claim for garage charges already sub-judice before competent civil court be decided by a consumer
disputes redressal agency?
Gist
• Jabalpur Tractors had filed a case for recovering garage charges in the Court of the District
Judge, Jabalpur. It was pending disposal. In the same case, Sedmal Jainarain filed a complaint in the
State Commission for recovery of their car. It held that complaint cannot be considered as the matter
was sub judice before the competent civil court.
• Against this decision, Sedmal filed an appeal before the National Commission against the order
of the State Commission. The National Commission directed Jabalpur Tractors to hand over the car to
Sedmal on the ground that COPRA is in addition to and not in derogation to any other law for the time
being in force.
• At this juncture, Jabalpur Tractors filed an appeal before the Supreme Court
Outcome
The Supreme Court upheld the State Commission’s order and set aside the National Commission’s
order in directing to hand over possession of the car to the respondent.

Complainant has a Right to Seek Redressal against Unfair Trade Practice under COPRA Case

Title
Om Prakash vs. Assistant Engineer, Haryana Agro Industries Corporation Ltd. And Others [1986-1995
Consumer 1042 (NS)]
Issues Raised
• Whether delay in delivery of goods by a trader constitutes unfair trade practice.
• Whether right to seek redressal against unfair trade practices or unscrupulous exploitation of
consumers is maintainable under COPRA?
Gist
• A complaint under COPRA was filed on behalf of the complainant, Om Prakash, before the
District Forum which held that the respondent, Haryana Agro, Industries failed to deliver tractor to the
complainant, although he was at the top in the booking list and also prepared to purchase it.
• Due to the delay made by the respondent, the complainant had to pay extra amount of 40,690
due to rise in prices. Haryana Agro was directed by the District Forum to refund 40,690 alongwith the
interest at the rate of 18 percent per annum and pay compensation of ₹2000 to Om Prakash for
harassment and mental agony.
• The appeal filed on behalf of Haryana Agro before the State Commission was dismissed,
affirming the findings of the District Forum. It went in appeal before the National Commission which
held that the mere fact that there has been delay in the delivery of the tractor will hot constitute ‘unfair
trade practice under COPRA. The National Commission did not point out in its order as to why in the
facts and circumstances of the case it shall not constitute ‘unfair trade práctice.
• Om Prakash thus went in appeal to the Supreme Court.
Outcome
• The Supreme Court held that the definitions of ‘deficiency’ and ‘service’ given under COPRA
will cover the action of the respondent, in intentionally delaying supply of the tractor.
• Accordingly, the appeal was allowed. The order of the National Commission was set aside and
that of the State Commission was restored whereby Haryana Agro had to refund 40,690 with interest
and also pay a compensation of 2000 to Om Prakash.
QUALITY AND STANDARDISATION
Quality standards are defined as documents that give criteria, specifications, rules, or attributes that may
be used consistently to guarantee that materials, products, processes, and services are appropriate for
their intended use.
Standards provide organisations and customers worldwide with an objective and authoritative
foundation on which to communicate and conduct business because they provide clear definitions and
terminology. Organisations can satisfy stakeholder expectations by using standards to give them a
common vision, understanding, techniques, and vocabulary.

Who uses Quality Standards?

Organizations rely on standards as a roadmap to success. These standards provide clear instructions and
best practices to help them to:
• Meet the quality needs of the client
• Ensuring the safety of the product and services
• Comply with the requirements of the regulations
• Protecting products against climatic or other adverse conditions
• Meeting environmental targets
Examples of Quality Standards
• ISO 9000: Quality Management Standards
• ISO 22000: Food Safety Standards
• ISO 26000: Social Responsibility Standards
 VOLUNTARY AND MANDATORY STANDARDS
The International Organization for Standardization, defines a standard as “a document, established by
a consensus of subject matter experts and approved by a recognised body that provides guidance on the
design, use or performance of materials, products, processes, services, systems or people”. In other
words, a standard is a recognised and recorded method of performing a task. The objectives of these

standards are to safeguard the health and safety of consumers, promote product compatibility, and
accelerate market pace. We are able to classify standards into

Voluntary Standards
A voluntary standard is a standard established generally by a private-sector body and that available for
use by any person or organization, private or government. The term includes what commonly referred
to as "industry standards" as well as consensus standards.

Mandatory Standards
A mandatory standard is one that must be followed in order to comply with a government statute or
regulation, an internal policy of an organisation, or a condition of a contract. Failure to comply a
mandatory standard usually carries a sanction, such as civil or criminal penalties, or loss employment.
BIS is a typical mandatory standard in India.

INDIAN STANDARDS MARK (ISI)

Indian Standards (BIS) Standard Mark (ISI Mark) is a quality mark that has been used for over 60 years
to establish the reputation of the company as the consumer is always inclined towards quality products.
It is a standardisation mark issued by the Bureau of Indian Standards (BIS) to certify that the product
conforms to the minimum quality standards. The presence of this mark on a product demonstrate that
the product has passed the necessary tests and quality checks to guarantee it adhere to predefine criteria
concerning safety, performance and dependability.
The ISI mark is mandatory for certain products to be sold in India, for numerous electrical
items, including switches, motors, wiring cables, heaters, kitchen appliances, etc., as well as other items,
such as automobile Tyres, Portland cement, LPG cylinders, valves, etc. In the case of most other
products like clothing and textiles, stationery items, furniture (unless it uses specific regulated
materials), fresh fruits and vegetables, etc, ISI marks are optional.

Spurious ISI Mark

In India, it is not uncommon to come across goods bearing forged ISI marks. In other words, industrial
dealers deceive consumers by adding ISI marks to their products without the necessary certification.
Usually, counterfeit ISI marks don't contain
i.the mandatory 7 or 8-digit license number (of the format CM/L-xxxxxxx, where x signifies a digit from
the license number) required by BIS.
ii.the IS number on top of the ISI mark which signifies the Indian standard a particular product
is in compliance with.
Counterfeiting ISI marks is a punishable offence by the law, but enforcement of this rule is not
widespread. One of such case is, the ISI stamp on bundled drinking water was found to be truant by
M/s Sri Lakshminarsimmha aqua Tech in Coimbatore. Firm was raided and about 217 bags of 250ml
pouch filled with PDW were seized. The firm was misusing ISI Mark on well-known brand names. The
case being filed in Court of Law
 Genuin
e
ISI
Mark

Fake
ISI
Mark

AG-MARK
The term AGMARK was coined by joining the words “Ag” means agriculture and “Mark” for a
Certification mark. AGMARK is a certificate showing that agricultural products comply with the
Grading Marks issued by the Department of Agriculture, Cooperatives and Farmers Welfare,
Directorate of Marketing and Inspection (DMI), Department of Agriculture and Farmers Welfare under
the Agricultural Products Act. Ib., 1937. This model/mark differs in quality and shows 2-3 levels
for each product.
So far, 222 agricultural products have been published under AG-Mark. These include fruits,
vegetables, grains, legumes, seed oil, vegetable oil, butter, wheat, atta, besan, ghee, spices, honey,
etc. is included.

HALLMARK
The process of approving items crafted from precious metals, such gold and silver jewellery, is known
as hallmarking. Thus, hallmarks are legal symbols that are employed as a guarantee of the fineness or
purity of precious metal products in many countries. The principal objectives of the Hallmarking
Scheme are to obligate manufacturers to maintain legal standards of fineness and to protect the public
against adulteration. Silver and gold are now the two precious metals in India that fall under the
jurisdiction of hallmarking.
Components of a Hallmark:
A typical Hallmark consists of several elements:
• Purity Mark: Indicates the percentage of pure metal content (e.g., 22K for 22carat gold).
• Assay Office Mark: Identifies the testing centre that verified the metal's purity.
• Sponsor's Mark: Represents the manufacturer or seller responsible for the item.
• Year of Marking: Indicates the year when the Hallmark was applied.

CONSUMER GRIEVANCE REDRESSAL UNDER THE BIS ACT, 2016

All complaints about BIS certified products or services provided by BIS can be sent to Public Grievance
Officers (PGOs) appointed by BIS at all locations where BIS offices exist. PGOS after necessary
verification of supporting documents forward the complaint to Consumer Affairs Department (CAD)
for recording of the complaint centrally.

Who can file a complaint?

Any consumer who has purchased a BIS-Certified and believes it doesn’t meet the BIS standards

How to file a complaint?

The BIS Act offers multiple channels for filing complaints:
Online:
• BIS CARE mobile app, available on the BIS website/Google Play store.
• Consumer Engagement Portal (https://www.bis.gov.in/consumer-overview/consumer-
overviews/online-complaint-registration/)
Offline:
• Public Grievance Officers (PGOs) at BIS Regional and Branch Offices
(https://www.bis.gov.in/regional-branch-offices-bis-list/)
• By post to the Head (Complaints Management & Enforcement Department), BIS
Headquarters in New Delhi

What can be included in the complaint?

• Details about the BIS-certified product (name, brand, model number)
• A clear description of the complaint, outlining the nature of the problem (e.g., product
malfunction, safety hazard, failing to meet advertised specifications).
• Proof of purchase (bill, receipt)
• Any other relevant documentation that can support your claim, such as photos of the damaged
product, test reports from a qualified lab (if available), and copies of communication with the
seller or manufacturer regarding the issue.

What happens after filing a complaint? The BIS will acknowledge your complaint and initiate an
investigation. This investigation may involve contacting the manufacturer or seller to get their
perspective on the issue and requesting them to take corrective action to address your complaint.
 • The BIS can also collect samples of the product for testing at its laboratories.
• Throughout the investigation, the BIS will keep you informed about the progress and the final
decision. The decision may include requiring the manufacturer to repair or replace the faulty
product, offer you a full refund, or issue a product recall if a safety hazard is identified.
In case, complainant is not satisfied with the redressal of the complaint, he/she may prefer an appeal
before Additional Director General of BIS.

ISO 10000 SUITE

ISO is an independent, non-governmental international organisation with a member of 162 national
standards bodies.

ISO 10000 Suite: International standards on handling of consumer complaints by Organizations

The ISO 10000 suite consists of three standards designed to provide advice to organizations seeking t
o increase customer satisfaction with their products and services. The ISO 10000 series considers cust
omer satisfaction in accordance with ISO 9001 and supports the objectives of the standard by using ef
ficient and effective methods to establish and implement customer satisfaction.
This International Standard series can also be used independently of ISO 9001 and ISO 9004: or in
conjunction with each other. When used together, they can be a part of a border complaints handling
and dispute resolution. ISO 10004 complements ISO 10001, ISO 10002 and ISO 10003 by providing
guidance on the monitoring and measuring of customer satisfaction. The company can use the
information gathered to direct actions that will maintain or improve customer satisfaction.
ISO 10001: provides guidance on global best practice for organizations who want to maintain high
level of customer satisfaction. These guidance standard shows how a company can create and a
'customer satisfaction code of conduct’.
ISO 10002: provides guidance for design and implementation of an in- company consumer complaint
handling process. It aims to address customer complaints and other interested parties. Even though this
is a guidance standard, a number of Indian Companies have been certified against this standard.
ISO 10003: Offers assistance to businesses on how to organise, develop, operate, manage, and enhance
a system of external conflict settlement for their clients. Where complaints cannot be resolved inside
the company, this standard helps to set up a company mandated external dispute resolution system. This
helps to avoid time consuming adversarial procedures and helps in saving time of the consumer.

Industry Regulators and Consumer Complaint Redressal Mechanism

BANKING OMBUUDSMAN
In accordance with Section 35 A of the Banking Regulation Act of 1949, the RBI created the
Banking Ombudsman Scheme in India in 1995. It was later updated in 2002. The Banking Ombudsman
Scheme provides bank clients with a quick and affordable avenue to resolve complaints about certain
services provided by banks. A senior person designated by the Reserve Bank of India, the Banking
Ombudsman is responsible for handling consumer complaints regarding deficiencies in certain banking
services that fall under the purview of the grounds for complaint outlined in Clause 8 of the Banking
Ombudsman Scheme, 2006 (as amended until July 1, 2017). The 2002 Banking Ombudsman Scheme
was superseded and replaced by the present scheme, which went into effect on January 1st, 2006.
Between 2002 and 2006, almost 36,000 complaints were filed.
What are the grounds for complaints? Any complaint regarding any of the following shortcomings
in banking services may be submitted to and reviewed by the Banking Ombudsman:
a. Failure to pay or excessively long delay in paying or retrieving checks, drafts, invoices, etc.
b. Refusal to accept small denomination notes tendered for any purpose without a valid reason,
and the corresponding commission charge.
c. Refusal to accept coins tendered without a valid reason, and the corresponding commission
charge.
d. Failure to issue drafts, pay orders, or bankers' checks, or issuing them slowly.
e. Failure to observe the designated working hours.
f. Delays, failure to credit proceeds to the parties' accounts, failure to pay the deposit, or failure
to follow instructions issued by the Reserve Bank regarding the interest rate on deposits.
g. Refusal to open a bank account without providing a good explanation.
h. Charge for services without giving the client enough warning beforehand.
i. Non-payment or delay of pension (to the extent that the grievant can be held accountable for
the bank's actions, but not for the actions of its employees).
j. Refusal to receive or accept payment for taxes later than required by the government or Reserve
Bank.
k. Declining to issue, holding off on issuing, neglecting to serve, holding off on serving, or
redeeming government securities.

Who can file a complaint?

The following persons are authorised to file complaint-

a. Consumer himself
b. An authorized representative of the complaint (other than an advocate)
Regarding fees, there are none that the Banking Ombudsman charges for addressing consumer
complaints.

Filing of a Complaint
In order to bring a complaint before the Banking Ombudsman, the complainant must first work directly
with his bank to resolve the issue by submitting a written submission to the bank that is the subject of
the complaint.

A customer may file a complaint with the Banking Ombudsman in the following situations:
(a) the bank does not respond to the complaint within a month of receiving it; (b)
the bank rejects the complaint; or
(c) the complainant is dissatisfied with the bank's response.
Non-resident Indians with accounts in India may file complaints with the Banking
Ombudsman over their deposits, remittances from outside, and other bank-related issues.
Procedure of Filing a Complaint

The complaint should be made before the expiry of the period of one year (after the cause of action has
arisen) and it should not be for the same subject matter that was settled through the Banking
Ombudsman in any previous proceeding. The complaint cannot be made even if the case is pending
before any court, tribunal or any other forum. The Banking Ombudsman accepts complaints that can be
submitted with just a plain piece of paper. Additionally, he has the option to submit it via email to the
Banking Ombudsman or online at www.bankingombudsman.rbi.org.in. Along with information on the
program, a designated form for making a complaint is also available at all bank offices. Using this
format is not necessary, though.
The Essentials of a Complaint
1. The name and address of the complainant.
2. the name and address of the bank branch or office that is the subject of the complaint.
3. Facts giving rise to the complaint supported by documents, if any.
4. The nature and extent of the loss caused to the complainant.
5. The relief sought from the Banking Ombudsman. 6.
A declaration about the compliance of conditions which are required to be satisfied with by the
complainant.

Process Followed at the Banking Ombudsman

1. The banking ombudsman attempts to facilitate a settlement between the customer and the bank
mentioned in the complaint through conciliation or mediation.

2. If the conditions of settlement (given by the bank) are satisfactory to the complainant as a complete
and final resolution of his complaint, the Banking Ombudsman will issue an order in line with the terms
of settlement, which is legally obligatory on both the bank and the complainant.

3. The Banking Ombudsman moves on to issue an award if a complaint is not resolved by an agreement
within a month. The Banking Ombudsman gives both the bank and the complainant a fair chance to
submit their cases before making an award.

What Takes Place If an Agreement Doesn't Settle the Complaint?

In the event that an agreement cannot resolve a complaint within a month, the Banking Ombudsman
will issue an Award. The Banking Ombudsman gives both the bank and the complainant a fair chance
to submit their cases before making an award. The complaint has the last say over whether to accept or
reject the award as a full and final settlement.

Limit on the Amount of Compensation as Specified in an Award

The upper limit of the compensation amount specified in an award The amount that the bank would pay
the complainant as compensation for any losses they may have incurred is only allowed to be the amount
that directly results from the bank's act or omission, or 20 lakhs, whichever is less.
INSURANCE OMBUDSMAN

The Government of India developed this programme to allow individual policyholders to have their
grievances resolved in an economical, timely, and unbiased manner outside of the legal system. There
are currently 17 Insurance Ombudsman in various locations. Anyone with a grievance against an insurer
may file a written complaint with the Insurance Ombudsman whose territorial jurisdiction includes the
complainant's residential address or place of residence, the insurer's branch or office, or him or her
through legal heirs, nominees, or assignees.

What are the grounds for complaints?

The policyholder initially complained to his or her insurance provider, and

(a) They declined it.
(b) not satisfactorily resolved it or
(c) did not reply to it for a period of thirty days.
A complaint relates to any policy that the policyholder has taken out on his own behalf. The claim's
total value, including all incurred costs, cannot exceed 50 lakhs.

What happens after a complaint is received by the Insurance Ombudsman?

In his role as mediator, the Ombudsman will consider all relevant circumstances before formulating a
reasonable suggestion. If the policyholder agrees to this as a complete and final settlement, the
Ombudsman will notify the firm, and the company will have 15 days to comply with the terms. After
obtaining all the necessary information from the complainant, the Ombudsman will make a decision
that will be binding on the insurance company if a settlement by suggestion fails. This decision will be
made within three months. Following the award's passing, the insurer must abide by it within 30 days
of receiving it and notify the Ombudsman of their compliance.

TELECOM REGULATORY AUTHORITY OF INDIA (TRAI)

The Telecom Regulatory Authority of India is known by its acronym, TRAI. It is an official authority
in India tasked with overseeing broadcasting and telecommunications in the nation. The primary
responsibilities of TRAI are to establish rates for telecom services, monitor telecom operators'
adherence to license requirements, foster competition, and safeguard the interests of consumers in the
telecoms industry.

1. The Telecom Services Sector's Grievance Redressal Mechanism:

a. Providers handle complaints about service quality, billing, and license terms and conditions.
b. TRAI released the "Telecom Complaint Redressal Regulations 2012" to simplify grievance
redressal.
c. All providers must establish a two-tier grievance redressal procedure.
d. Complainants must use the "Two Tier Institutionalized Grievances Redressal Mechanism of
the concerned Service Provider" for redress.
e. Complainants can file a complaint against the service provider in any court or forum if unhappy
with the provider's decision or delay in resolving their grievance.
2. Complaint Associated with Uninvited Commercial Calls (UCC):

"The Telecom Commercial Communication Customer Preference Regulations, 2010" by TRAI

a. Aimed to control commercial calls and protect consumers from unsolicited commercial calls
and messages (UCC).
b. Effective from September 27, 2011.
c. Landline and mobile customers can register for UCC by calling or SMSing 1909.
d. SMS registration requires "START 0" in the "fully blocked category" field and "START" with
one or more options from seven categories.
e. Registration takes effect within 7 days and customers can modify their selections after three months
or recent preference modification.
e. If a UCC is received after seven days, customers have three days to file a complaint.
e. Within seven days, the service provider addresses the issue and notifies the complainant.
e. Complainants can file a complaint with TRAI to have unresolved issues addressed.

FOOD SAFETY AND STANDARDS AUTHORITY OF INDIA (FSSAI)

The Food Safety and Standards Act (FSSA), 2006 intends to regulate the production, handling,
distribution, sale, and import of food in order to guarantee the supply of healthy and safe food for human
consumption as well as for customers who are associated with it. In order to guarantee the provision of
 healthy and safe food for human consumption, this Act established the Food Safety and Standards
Authority of India (FSSAI), which is tasked with establishing scientific standards for food articles and
regulating their manufacture, storage, distribution, sale, and import.

The FSSA's two primary goals are:

i.Establishing a single statutory entity for food and
ii.To support the food processing industry's scientific advancement.

The Food Safety and Standard Act of 2006 defines the following terms:

a. "Food" refers to any material, whether fully or partially processed, that is meant for
ingestion by humans.
b. "Food Business" refers to any activity related to any stage of food manufacture, processing,
packaging, storage, transportation, distribution, import, and includes food services, catering
services, and the sale of food or food ingredients.
b. "Food safety" refers to the guarantee that food is suitable for ingestion by humans based on its
intended usage.
b. "Misbranded Food" refers to a food item that
i.if an item is advertised or offered for sale with inaccurate, misleading, or deceptive claims made on the
package label, or
ii.marketed under a name that is associated with a different food item; or
iii.advertised or offered for sale under the name of a false person or business representing
themselves as the article's manufacturer or producer, as stated on the package containing the item or the
label on such a package; or if the item is sold in packages that have been prepared, sealed, or sealed by
the manufacturer or producer, bearing his name and address.
(e) "Unsafe Food" is defined as a food item whose composition, nature, or quality has been
compromised to the point that it poses a health risk.

Section 24: Advertisements and Unfair Trade:

1. It states that no food shall be advertised in a way that is misleading, deceptive, or that violates the
requirements of this Act or the rules and regulations enacted under it.
2. In addition, no one shall engage in any unfair trade practices with the intent of advancing the sale,
distribution, use, and consumption of food items, nor shall they embrace any unfair or misleading
practices, such as the practice of making any representations—verbally, in writing, or visually.

Section 70: Appellate Tribunal for Food Safety

1. A Food Safety Appellate Tribunal would be established by the Federal Government or State
Governments to hear appeals of the Adjudicating Officer's rulings.
2. The topics and regions over which the Tribunal may have jurisdiction may be prescribed by the
Federal Government or the State Government.
3. There will only be one Presiding Officer appointed to the Tribunal, and that person must be eligible
to serve in that capacity unless they are currently serving as or have previously served as a District
Judge.
4. The Central Government would specify the requirements, appointment, tenure, pay and benefits,
resignation, and removal of the Presiding Officer.
5. The Central Government would dictate the appeals process and the Tribunal's authority.
ADVERTISING STANDARDS COUNCIL OF INDIA (ASCI)
Under section 25 of the Indian Companies Act, ASCI, a voluntary self-regulatory body, is registered as
a not-for-profit company. The primary sponsors of the ASCI are well-known companies in the Indian
advertising sector, and they include media outlets, advertisers, advertising agencies, and various
ancillary and professional services related to the art of advertising. ASCI is not a government agency
as a result. It is a self-regulatory organization that is voluntary.

ASCI Code of Conduct

The Advertising Standards Council of India (ASCI) established a Code for Advertising Self-Regulation
in 1985. It is an assurance of truthful marketing and equitable competition in the marketplace. It
represents the defence of the rightful rights of consumers and everyone involved in the advertising
industry, including media outlets, advertising agencies, and those who contribute to the production or
placement of commercials. The major objective of ASCI is to uphold and strengthen public trust in
advertising.

Consumer Complaints Council (CCC)

The Advertising Standards Council of India (ASCI) includes the Consumer Complaints Council (CCC).
It is in charge of responding to and deciding consumer complaints about advertisements that are
allegedly deceptive, inaccurate, or in breach of the ASCI code. After reviewing these complaints, the
CCC takes the proper action, which can involve requesting that advertisers change or remove the
offending commercials. It is essential to maintaining moral standards in Indian advertising.

Decisions of ASCI
85 to 90 percent of these advertisements have been withdrawn or correctly amended by the
advertisers/agencies involved in the complaints that the CCC upheld. Additionally, the offending
advertisements and TVC have been confirmed not to air by the affected media. There is no cost for
complainants to file a complaint.

REAL ESTATE REGULATORY ACT (RERA), 2016

The Indian Parliament passed the Real Estate (Regulation and Development) Act, 2016 (RERA). In
addition to promoting investment in the real estate industry, RERA aims to safeguard the interests of
home buyers. On March 26, 2016, the Indian government passed the Real Estate (Regulation and
Development) Act 2016, and on May 1, 2017, all of its provisions went into force.

Objects/Advantages of the RERA

a. Encourage developers in the real estate industry to be more accountable and transparent.
b. To create consistency in the real estate industry's regulatory framework.
c. To guarantee prompt dispute resolution.
d. Lower the number of lawsuits.
e. To encourage the real estate industry's expansion.
f. Promoting both foreign and domestic real estate investment.
g. Assure prompt and effective project completion.
h. Standardize and bring professionalism to the real estate industry.

How can Consumers File a Complaint under RERA?

The Real Estate (Regulation and Development) Act, 2016, Section 31, allows complaints to be made to
the adjudicating officer or the Real Estate Regulatory Authority for violations of act provisions and
regulations. Complaints must be submitted in the required format and buyers must visit the relevant
state government's RERA portal. The Regulatory Authority has 60 days to resolve complaints, but can
take its time. The Act requires builders to quote rates based on carpet area, benefiting customers.

Section 34: Functions of RERA

1.To register and oversee real estate agents and projects.

2. To create and update a publicly available website with records of every project that includes specifics.
3. To keep an online database of defaulter promoters with their names and photos that is open to the
public.
4. To keep an online database of real estate agents who are registered and a list of those whose
registration has been denied or cancelled that is accessible to the general public.
5. To offer guidance and suggestions to the government in order to support the development and
advancement of a robust, open, effective, and competitive real estate market.
6. To guarantee adherence to the Act's requirements.

Section 35: Power of the Authority

The Authority has the power to charge interest or penalties for obligations, control its processes, refer
matters related to market power exploitation, and designate individuals to investigate the
Promoter/Allottee/Agent's affairs. It can also exercise similar authority as a civil court, oversee
document preparation, and grant commissions to examine documents or witnesses. Interim orders can
be passed, and the Authority can request payment or interest back from the Promoter/Allottee/Agent.
INTRODUCTION

Rationale for the Study

The consumer goods market is witnessing a paradigm shift, with an increasing focus on wellness and
natural products. This research aims to provide a comprehensive understanding of Competition Act
2002 and Competition Commission of India

Objectives of the Study

Potential objectives for the paper are:

1. Understanding Competition Law and Policy: The research paper aims to provide a comprehensive
understanding of competition law and policy in India, including the legal framework established by the
Competition Act, 2002, and the role of the CCI in enforcing competition laws.

2. Analyzing Competition Issues in a Specific Sector: The paper focuses on analyzing competition
issues in a particular industry or sector of the economy, such as telecommunications, e-commerce,
healthcare, or agriculture. This involves examining market structure, competition dynamics, and
regulatory challenges within the chosen sector.

4. Investigating Anti-Competitive Practices: The paper investigates instances of anti-competitive

behaviour, such as cartels, bid rigging, price-fixing agreements, or abuse of dominance, and analyses
the enforcement actions taken by the CCI to address these practices.

5. Examining Market Studies and Research by CCI: The research focuses on analysing market studies,
research reports, and policy documents published by the CCI. This involves evaluating the
methodology, findings, and policy recommendations of CCI's studies on various aspects of competition
and market behaviour.

Significance of the Study

1. Academic Contribution: The study contributes to the academic literature on competition law, policy,
and economics by providing insights, analysis, and research findings in areas relevant to the mandate
of the CCI. It adds to the body of knowledge available to scholars, researchers, and practitioners
interested in understanding competition issues in India.

2. Policy Relevance: The research addresses real-world competition challenges and policy concerns
faced by the CCI and policymakers. By analyzing competition issues, market dynamics, and regulatory
responses, the study offers evidence-based insights that can inform policy formulation, enforcement
strategies, and regulatory reforms aimed at promoting competition and consumer welfare.

3. Practical Implications: The findings of the study have practical implications for businesses, industry
stakeholders, and policymakers. By identifying market trends, assessing competition issues, and
proposing policy recommendations, the research can help stakeholders better understand market
dynamics, anticipate regulatory developments, and adapt their strategies accordingly.

4. Educational Impact: The study contributes to the educational mission of academic institutions by
enriching the learning experience of students and fostering a deeper understanding of complex issues
related to competition, regulation, and market behavior. It encourages students to apply theoretical
concepts to real-world contexts and develop critical thinking skills through independent research.

5. Promotion of Transparency and Accountability: By conducting research on competition issues and

enforcement activities of the CCI, the study promotes transparency and accountability in regulatory
decision-making. It enhances public understanding of the CCI's role, functions, and performance in
safeguarding competition and consumer interests, thereby fostering trust and confidence in the
regulatory process.

1. COMPETITION MEANING

Competition in the marketplace is a rivalry between companies that sell similar products and services.
Competition aims to increase revenue, profit, and market share.
As many companies offer unique products and services, they often find other companies offering similar
things to their customers, which creates competition between two or more companies hoping to
influence the same consumer to purchase their goods. Learning about this concept helps us understand
the effects of competition in a market.
Businesses engage in competition not only to convert and retain customers, increase revenue, and gain
market share but also to foster innovation, enhance customer experiences, and drive continuous
improvement. This competitive landscape pushes companies to differentiate themselves through unique
value propositions, exceptional customer service, and innovative solutions that set them apart from their
competitors. By embracing competition as a catalyst for growth and development, businesses can create
distinctive brand identities, cultivate customer loyalty, and establish themselves as industry leaders
through a blend of creativity, customer-centric strategies, and a relentless pursuit of excellence.
Competition is a means to achieve economic efficiency and welfare objectives, hence it becomes a
driving force for the global economy.

2. JURISPENDENCE OF THE MRTP ACT 1969

After gaining independence in 1947, India witnessed a surge of new and prominent companies entering
its market, initially facing minimal competition and attempting to establish monopolies. Recognizing
the need to protect consumer rights and ensure fair market practices, the Indian government took a
proactive step by introducing the MRTP bill in 1969. This legislative move aimed to address the
emerging challenges of monopolistic and restrictive trade practices, setting the stage for a more
competitive and consumer-friendly business environment. By enacting the MRTP Act, India embarked
on a journey towards fostering healthy competition, curbing monopolies, and safeguarding the interests
of consumers in a rapidly evolving economic landscape.

The Monopolistic and Restrictive Trade Practices (MRTP) Act of 1969 was implemented in India to
regulate monopolies, restrictive trade practices, and unfair trade practices to safeguard consumer rights
and prevent the concentration of economic power in the hands of a few companies. The Act aimed to
ensure fair competition in the market and prevent anti-competitive behavior. It established a
commission with the authority to investigate monopolistic or restrictive trade practices, receive
complaints, and take necessary actions to restrain such practices.
The MRTP Act in India has been superseded by the Competition Act, which was enforced by the
Competition Commission of India starting from September 1st, 2009.

3. TRANSITIONING FROM THE MRTP ACT TO THE COMPETITION ACT

India introduced the Competition Act in 2002 to replace the Monopolistic and Restrictive Trade
Practices (MRTP) Act of 1969 because the latter faced limitations in addressing contemporary
challenges posed by globalization and rapid economic change. The MRTP Act focused primarily on
preventing the concentration of economic power and controlling monopolistic, restrictive, and unfair
trade practices. However, it lacked flexibility and failed to adapt to evolving market dynamics
effectively.
Some specific reasons for replacing the MRTP Act with the Competition Act include:
 1. Inflexibility: The MRTP Act was too rigid and inflexible to accommodate dynamic market
developments, especially those resulting from globalization and liberalization efforts.
2. Excessive Government Control: Under the MRTP Act, businesses needed excessive
government approval for corporate reorganizations or takeovers, making it challenging for
companies to remain competitive.
3. Vague and Ambiguous Law: The MRTP Act contained vague language that often led to legal
uncertainty and inconsistencies in enforcement.
4. Per Se Rules vs. Rule of Reason: The MRTP Act applied strict "per se" rules to some practices,
meaning that certain behaviors were banned regardless of contextual factors. The Competition
Act adopts the "rule of reason," allowing courts to consider the effects of particular conduct
within specific markets.
To overcome these limitations, the Competition Act was created to foster healthy competition,
encourage innovation, and protect consumers' interests. The Competition Act promotes a rule-based
approach to regulation, focusing on promoting competition and protecting consumers, rather than
directly targeting specific forms of anti-competitive behavior like the MRTP Act did.

4. DIFFERENCE BETWEEN MRTP AND THE COMPETITION ACT

The Monopolistic and Restrictive Trade Practices (MRTP) Act of 1969 and the Competition Act of
2002 serve distinct purposes in India's regulatory landscape. The key differences between them include:
1. Focus: The MRTP Act aimed to control monopolies, while the Competition Act aims to
promote competition.
2. Nature: The MRTP Act was reformative, seeking to correct abuses; the Competition Act is
punitive, seeking to discourage anticompetitive behavior through fines and penalties.
3. Determination of dominance: The MRTP Act assessed dominance based on firm size, while
the Competition Act evaluated dominance based on structural characteristics.
4. Interest served: The MRTP Act protects consumer interests, while the Competition Act serves
the broader public interest.
5. Offences: The MRTP Act identified 14 offenses against the principles of natural justice, while
the Competition Act lists just four.
6. Penalties: The MRTP Act did not specify penalties for offenses, while the Competition Act
specifies penalties for noncompliance.
7. Registration requirements: The MRTP Act mandates registration of agreements, while the
Competition Act does not require registration.
8. Appointment of Chairperson: The MRTP Act requires the Central Government to appoint the
Chairperson, while the Competition Act allows a Committee composed of retired judges to
make the appointment.
9. Applicability: The MRTP Act applies nationwide except for Jammu and Kashmir, while the
Competition Act supersedes the MRTP Act and applies everywhere in India.
These differences reflect the evolution of India's competition law framework, moving away from a
focus on controlling monopolies toward fostering healthy competition and ensuring consumer
protection. The Competition Act provides a more flexible and effective toolkit for managing
competition in today's complex economic environment.

5. NEED AND OBJECTIVE OF THE COMPETITION ACT 2002

The Competition Act of 2002 was designed to promote fair competition, protect consumer interests,
and ensure a stable market environment in India. Specifically, the objectives of the Competition Act
2002 included:
 1. Prevention of anti-competitive agreements: The Competition Act prohibits agreements
between enterprises, including cartels, that have the effect of significantly reducing competition
in the market. Such agreements can include price-fixing, bid-rigging, and market-sharing
arrangements. The Act also prohibits abuse of a dominant position by an enterprise, which can
include imposing unfair conditions on suppliers or customers, predatory pricing, and limiting
the production or supply of goods or services.
2. Protection against abuse of dominant positions: The Competition Act aims to prevent
dominant firms from engaging in anti-competitive behavior that could harm consumers or
competitors. The Act defines a dominant position as a position of strength enjoyed by an
enterprise in the relevant market, which enables it to operate independently of competitive
forces. The CCI can investigate and penalize firms that abuse their dominant position, such as
by charging excessive prices or engaging in discriminatory practices.
3. Encouragement of pro-competitive mergers and acquisitions: The Competition Act
recognizes that mergers and acquisitions can lead to efficiency gains and other benefits for
consumers. However, it also recognizes that such transactions can reduce competition in the
market. The Act, therefore, requires that mergers and acquisitions be notified to the CCI for
approval if they meet certain thresholds. The CCI evaluates such transactions to ensure that
they do not result in a substantial lessening of competition.
4. Consumer welfare: The Competition Act seeks to protect the interests of consumers by
promoting competition in the market. The Act recognizes that competition can lead to lower
prices, better quality, and greater choice for consumers. The CCI can investigate and penalize
firms that engage in anti-competitive behavior that harms consumers.
5. Freedom of trade: The Competition Act recognizes the importance of free and open
competition in promoting economic growth and development. The Act seeks to ensure that all
enterprises have an equal opportunity to participate in the market and compete on their merits.
6. Transparent enforcement mechanisms: The Competition Act provides clear guidance and
procedures for investigating potential violations and applying appropriate remedies. The Act
also provides for an independent appellate tribunal to hear appeals against decisions of the CCI.
Overall, the Competition Act of 2002 aims to promote a competitive market environment that benefits
consumers, encourages innovation and supports economic growth.

JUDICIAL ATTITUDE TOWARDS MRTP ACT: A STUDY OF IMPORTANT MRTP CASES

To gain a comprehensive understanding of the inherent limitations of the MRTP Act of 1969 that
eventually led to its replacement, it is imperative to delve into pivotal legal cases that showcase the
judicial perspective on these loopholes. By scrutinizing these landmark cases, we can unravel the
intricate dynamics that underscored the challenges and shortcomings of the MRTP Act, shedding light
on the evolution of regulatory frameworks and judicial responses to ensure a fair and competitive
business environment.

Tata Engineering and Locomotive Co. Ltd vs. Registrar of Restrictive Trade Practices Agreement

Facts – In this particular instance, TELCO engaged in a contractual arrangement with its dealers,
delineating specific territories where they were exclusively authorized to sell Tata's vehicles. This
territorial confinement faced scrutiny as it was contested to constitute a form of 'restrictive trade
practice'.

Held – In a groundbreaking legal precedent, the Supreme Court of India introduced the Rule of Reason
for the first time in a case involving territorial restrictions, ruling that such limitations were not
inherently anti-competitive but rather aimed at ensuring equitable distribution of goods across the
nation. However, the positive impact of this judicial decision was overshadowed by the 1984
Amendment, specifically Section 33, which reclassified territorial allocation as a per se Restrictive
Trade Practice (RTP), altering the legal landscape surrounding such practices.
Director General of Investigation and Registration [DG (IR)] vs. Modi Alkali and Chemicals Ltd

Facts –Following an anonymous complaint alleging the formation of a cartel leading to a significant
price surge of chlorine gas and hydrochloric acid, the Commission initiated an investigation.
Subsequently, the Director General (DG) concluded that no cartel existed and recommended no action.
However, the Monopolies and Restrictive Trade Practices Commission (MRTPC) proceeded with
additional inquiries to delve deeper into the matter.

Held – Even though the term ‘Cartel’ was not defined under the MRTP Act, it was laid down that “cartel
is an association of producers who by an agreement among themselves attempt to control production,
sale and prices of the product to obtain a monopoly in any particular industry or commodity”. Although
in this particular there was not enough evidence to hold anyone liable so the case was dismissed.
However, this case brought into light an important category of anti-competitive agreements which were
till now not even identified in India.

6. CONCEPTS

A. Acquisition
Sec 2 (a) • Acquisition means, directly or indirectly, acquiring or agreeing to acquire
Shares of any enterprise
Voting rights of any enterprise
Assets of any enterprise
Control over management of any enterprise
Control over assets of any enterprise

B. Agreement
Sec 2 (b) • Agreement includes any arrangement or understanding or action in concert: o Whether or
not, Such arrangement, understanding or action is formal or in writing or, o Whether or not such
arrangement, understanding or action is intended to be enforceable by legal proceedings.

C. Cartel
Sec 2 (c) • Cartel includes an association of
Producers,
Sellers,
Distributors,
Traders or,
o Service providers, Who by agreement amongst themselves, limit, control, or attempt to control the:
o Production, distribution, sale or,
o Price of or trade in goods or provision of services

D. Goods
Sec 2 (i) • Goods means goods as defined in the Sale of Goods Act 1930 and includes:
o Products manufactured, processed, or mined.
o Debentures, stock, and shares after allotment.
o Concerning goods supplied, distributed, or controlled in India, goods imported into India

E. Consumer
Sec 2 (f) • Consumers means any person who: o 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, whether such purchase of goods is for resale or any commercial
purpose or personal use
o 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 or partly promised or under any system of deferred payment, when such services are availed of
with the approval of the first-mentioned person whether such hiring or availing of services is for any
commercial purpose or personal use

F. Enterprise
Sec 2 (h) Enterprise means a person or a department of the Government, who or which is or has been,
engaged in any activity, Relating to the production, storage, supply, distribution, acquisition or control
of articles or goods, or the provision of services, of any kind, or in investment, or in the business of
acquiring, holding, underwriting or dealing with shares, debentures or other securities of any other body
corporate, either directly or through one or more of its units or divisions or subsidiaries, whether such
unit or division or subsidiary is located at the same place where the enterprise is located or at a different
place or different places But does not include any activity of the Government relatable to the sovereign
functions of the Government including all activities carried on by the departments of the Central
Government dealing with atomic energy, currency, defense, and space

G. Person
it includes:
An individual, HUF, company body corporate, firm.
AOP whether incorporated or not, in India or outside India
Any cooperative society
A local authority
Every Artificial juristic person
AAEC - appreciable adverse effect on competition
PSU – Public Sector Undertaking
CCI – Competition Commission of India
CAT- Competition Appellate Tribunal

H. Group
Group means Two or more enterprises which directly or indirectly
1. Have 26% or more Voting Rights in the other Enterprise
2. Ability to appoint more than half of the members of the Board of Directors
3. Ability to control the management or affairs of the other enterprise

I. Control
includes Controlling the affairs or management by
1. One or more Enterprise Jointly or singularly over another Enterprise
2. One or more groups jointly or singularly over another group or enterprise

J. Predatory Pricing
It means the sale of goods or provision of services, at a price below the cost of production to reduce
competition or eliminate the competitors. The main objective of such a price is to reduce competition
or eliminate competitors

K. Anti-Trust Laws
The antitrust laws apply to virtually all industries and to every level of business, including
manufacturing, transportation, distribution, and marketing. They prohibit a variety of practices that
restrain trade [Examples are illegal practices of price-fixing, corporate mergers likely to reduce the
competitive vigor of particular markets, and predatory acts designed to achieve or maintain monopoly
power]

L. Monopoly
A market structure characterized by a single seller, selling a unique product in the market. In a monopoly
market, the seller faces no competition, as he is the sole seller of goods with no close substitute

M. Perfect Competition
Perfect competition is a market system characterized by many different buyers and sellers. In the classic
theoretical definition of perfect competition, there are an infinite number of buyers and sellers. With so
many market players, no one participant can alter the prevailing price in the market. If they attempt to
do so, buyers and sellers have infinite alternatives to pursue.

N. Oligopoly
An oligopoly is similar in many ways to a monopoly. The primary difference is that rather than having
only one producer of a good or service, there are a handful of producers, or at least a handful of
producers that make up a dominant majority of the production in the market system. While oligopolists
do not have the same pricing power as monopolists, it is possible, without diligent government
regulation, that oligopolists will collude with one another to set prices in the same way a monopolist
would.

O. Monopolistic competition
is a type of market system combining elements of a monopoly and perfect competition. Like a perfectly
competitive market system, there are numerous competitors in the market. The difference is that each
competitor is sufficiently differentiated from the others and some can charge greater prices than a
perfectly competitive firm. An example of monopolistic competition is the music market. While there
are many artists, each artist is different and is not perfectly substitutable with another artist.

P. Bid Rigging
Agreement between enterprise or person engaged in similar production or trading of goods or provisions
of service which has the effect of eliminating or reducing the competition for bid.

COMPETITION COMMISSION OF INDIA

The Competition Commission of India (CCI) is composed of a Chairperson and Members. The
composition is as follows:
1. Chairperson: The Chairperson is appointed by the President of India. The Chairperson is typically a
person who has been a judge of the Supreme Court or Chief Justice of a High Court or a person who
has been a Secretary to the Government of India in the Ministry dealing with Corporate Affairs or Law.

2. Members: The CCI can have up to six members, including the Chairperson. Among the members, at
least two must be persons who have been judges of a High Court or persons who are qualified to be
appointed as such. The other members are appointed from various fields such as economics, business,
commerce, or industry.

These appointments are made by the Central Government of India. The Chairperson and Members hold
office for a fixed term and are eligible for reappointment.

SELECTION COMMITTEE OF COMPETITION COMMISSION OF INDIA

The selection committee for the CCI is typically constituted according to the Competition Act, 2002
provisions. The Act mandates the formation of a selection committee for the appointment of the
Chairperson and Members.

The selection committee usually comprises the following members:

1. Chairperson of the committee: The selection committee is typically chaired by the Cabinet Secretary
or another senior government official nominated by the government.

2. Members: The other members of the selection committee typically include:

- Secretary to the Government of India in the Ministry dealing with Corporate Affairs or Law.
- Secretary to the Government of India in the Ministry of Finance.
- An expert nominated by the central government, usually with expertise in the field of economics,
business, commerce, or industry.

The selection committee is responsible for evaluating and recommending suitable candidates for the
positions of Chairperson and Members of the Competition Commission of India. The appointments are
then made by the President of India on the recommendation of the selection committee.

TERM OF CHAIRPERSON AND MEMBERS OF COMPETITION COMMISSION OF INDIA

The term of office for the Chairperson and Members of the Competition Commission of India (CCI) is
governed by the provisions of the Competition Act, 2002. Here are the details:

1. Chairperson: The Chairperson holds office for a term of five years or until they attain the age of sixty-
five years, whichever is earlier. The Chairperson is eligible for reappointment for another term of five
years or until they attain the age of sixty-five years, whichever is earlier.

2. Members: Members of the CCI hold office for a term of five years or until they attain the age of
sixty-two years, whichever is earlier. They are also eligible for reappointment for another term of five
years or until they attain the age of sixty-two years, whichever is earlier.

It's important to note that these terms and conditions are subject to any changes introduced by the
government through amendments to the Competition Act or through regulations issued by the relevant
authorities. Therefore, for the most up-to-date information on the term of office for the Chairperson and
Members of the CCI, it's advisable to refer to the latest legislative provisions and official notifications.

DUTIES OF CCI
The Competition Commission of India (CCI) is responsible for enforcing the Competition Act, 2002,
which aims to promote fair competition and prevent anti-competitive practices in the Indian market.
The duties of the CCI include:

1. Regulating Anti-Competitive Practices: CCI is tasked with prohibiting agreements, abuse of

dominant position, and combinations (mergers and acquisitions) that have or are likely to have an
appreciable adverse effect on competition within India.

2. Reviewing Mergers and Acquisitions: CCI examines mergers, acquisitions, amalgamations, and
combinations to ensure they do not have an adverse effect on competition in the relevant market. It
assesses the potential impact on market competition and may approve, reject, or modify proposed
transactions accordingly.

3. Investigating Anti-Competitive Conduct: CCI investigates complaints and suo moto cases regarding
anti-competitive behavior, including cartels, bid rigging, price fixing, and other practices that harm
competition in the market.

4. Promoting Competition Advocacy and Awareness: CCI engages in advocacy efforts to promote
competition awareness among businesses, consumers, and government agencies. It educates
stakeholders about the benefits of competition and the importance of adhering to competition laws.

5. Imposing Penalties and Remedies: CCI has the authority to impose penalties on entities found to have
violated competition laws. Penalties may include fines and directions to cease anti-competitive
practices. Additionally, CCI can issue orders to restore competition and remedy the adverse effects of
anti-competitive conduct.

Overall, the primary duty of the Competition Commission of India is to ensure a competitive market
environment that benefits consumers, encourages innovation and efficiency, and fosters economic
growth.

PROCEDURE FOR INQUIRY

The Competition Commission of India (CCI) follows a structured procedure for conducting inquiries
into alleged anti-competitive practices or violations of competition law. The procedure typically
involves several stages:

1. Initiation of Inquiry:
Inquiries may be initiated based on complaints received from stakeholders, suo moto by the CCI based
on its own knowledge, or on references from the central government, state governments, or statutory
authorities.
The CCI examines the information provided and determines whether there are sufficient grounds to
initiate an inquiry.

2. Preliminary Examination:
If the CCI finds prima facie evidence of anti-competitive behavior, it initiates a preliminary
examination.
During this stage, the CCI may gather additional information from the concerned parties and other
relevant sources to assess the merits of the case.

3. Formation of Director General (DG) Report:

If the CCI decides to proceed with the inquiry, it directs the Director General (DG) to conduct a detailed
investigation.
The DG is empowered to collect evidence, summon witnesses, and obtain documents relevant to the
inquiry.

4. Submission of DG Report:
After completing the investigation, the DG submits a report to the CCI detailing its findings and
recommendations.
The report includes analysis of relevant market conditions, assessment of alleged anti-competitive
conduct, and recommendations for further action.

5. Consideration by the CCI:

The CCI reviews the DG report and conducts its own assessment of the evidence presented.
It may hold hearings to allow parties to present their arguments and respond to the findings of the DG
report.

6. Final Decision:
Based on the findings of the investigation and the submissions made by the parties, the CCI makes a
final determination.
If the CCI finds that anti-competitive conduct has occurred, it may issue orders imposing penalties,
directing parties to cease such conduct, or prescribing other remedies to restore competition in the
market.

7. Appeals:
Parties aggrieved by the CCI's decision have the option to appeal to the National Company Law
Appellate Tribunal (NCLAT) within a specified time frame.
Further appeals may be made to the Supreme Court of India, if necessary.

Throughout the inquiry process, the CCI ensures adherence to principles of natural justice and provides
parties with opportunities to present their case and defend their interests. The goal is to conduct fair and
impartial inquiries to safeguard competition in the Indian market.

POWERS OF CCI
The Competition Commission of India (CCI) possesses a range of powers to issue orders aimed at
ensuring fair competition and preventing anti-competitive practices in the Indian market. These powers
are outlined in the Competition Act, 2002, and include:

1. Issuing Cease and Desist Orders: CCI can direct entities engaged in anti-competitive behavior to
cease such conduct. This may include practices like cartelization, abuse of dominance, or anti-
competitive agreements.

2. Imposing Penalties: CCI has the authority to impose penalties on entities found guilty of violating
competition laws. Penalties may be monetary fines, which can be up to 10% of the average turnover of
the last three preceding financial years.

3. Issuing Directions for Structural Remedies: In cases where anti-competitive behavior has resulted in
substantial harm to competition, CCI may issue directions requiring the parties to take corrective
actions. These could include divestiture of assets, modification of agreements, or other structural
remedies to restore competition.

4. Approving or Modifying Mergers and Acquisitions: CCI evaluates mergers, acquisitions, and
combinations to ensure they do not have an adverse impact on competition. It has the power to approve
such transactions, subject to certain conditions, or to modify them to mitigate anti-competitive effects.

5. Conducting Investigations: CCI can initiate investigations into alleged anti-competitive practices,
either based on complaints received or suo moto. During investigations, it has the power to gather
evidence, summon witnesses, and compel the production of documents relevant to the inquiry.

These powers enable CCI to enforce competition laws effectively, promote fair competition, and protect
the interests of consumers and market participants. The exercise of these powers is subject to principles
of natural justice and procedural fairness, and parties aggrieved by CCI's orders have the right to appeal
to the appropriate appellate authority.

APPEAL TO SUPREME COURT

In India, parties aggrieved by the decisions of the Competition Commission of India (CCI) have the
right to appeal to the appropriate appellate authority, which is the National Company Law Appellate
Tribunal (NCLAT). The NCLAT hears appeals against orders of the CCI under Section 53B of the
Competition Act, 2002.

However, if a party is dissatisfied with the decision of the NCLAT, they can further appeal to the
Supreme Court of India. The appeal to the Supreme Court is governed by the provisions of the
Competition Act and the Code of Civil Procedure, 1908.

Here's an overview of the process for appealing to the Supreme Court:

1. Filing of Appeal: The party seeking to appeal to the Supreme Court must file a Special Leave Petition
(SLP) within the prescribed time limit, which is generally within 60 days from the date of the NCLAT's
decision. The SLP should state the grounds on which the appeal is being filed and seek permission from
the Supreme Court to hear the appeal.

2. Grant of Permission: The Supreme Court has discretion in granting permission to hear the appeal. It
may consider various factors, including the importance of the issues involved, questions of law, and
substantial injustice caused to the aggrieved party.

3. Hearing and Decision: If the Supreme Court grants permission to hear the appeal, the case will be
listed for hearing. The parties present their arguments before the Court, and the Court considers the
merits of the case based on the evidence and legal principles involved. The Supreme Court may affirm,
modify, or reverse the decision of the NCLAT based on its findings.

4. Enforcement of Supreme Court's Decision: The decision of the Supreme Court is final and binding
on the parties. The Supreme Court may issue orders for the enforcement of its decision, and the parties
are required to comply with the Court's directives.

It's important to note that the appeal process to the Supreme Court involves complex legal procedures
and may require the assistance of legal counsel with expertise in competition law. Additionally,
timelines and procedural requirements must be strictly adhered to for filing appeals.

CASE STUDY: GOOGLE VS COMPETITION COMMISSION OF INDIA

The Competition Commission of India(" CCI") had on October 20, 2022, passed an order against
Google LLC and Google India Private Limited(" Google") directing Google to refrain from indulging
in anti-competitive practices that were set up to be in violation of the vittles of the Competition Act,
2002(" Competition Act") and also assessed on Google a penalty to the tune of INR1337.76
Crores. Google filed an appeal with the NCLAT against CCI's order. Google contended that CCI's
order suffered from evidence bias and that agreements executed with outfit manufacturers didn't help
them frompre-installing contending apps with analogous functionality. Google further argued that its
fashionability was due to its effectiveness and that dominance in the request didn't inescapably
constitute abuse of dominance.
CCI, on the other hand, contended that Google controlled nearly 98% of the request in India for
smartphone apps and was set up to be violating competition laws to maintain its dominance in
the request. CCI indicted Google of illegal trade practices by confining the entry of other operations
in the Google Play Store. CCI added Google's programs in India in 5 expressions, videlicet" digital
feudalism," " digital slavery," " technological prison,"" chokepoint capitalism," and" consumer
exploitation." CCI observed that by using its dominant position in the online hunt request, Google was
denying access to contending hunt machines.
It also noted that by making pre-installations of Google's personal apps obligatory in an android phone,
the incitement and capability of device manufacturers to develop and vend bias operating on
alternate performances of android was vastly reduced. thus, CCI directed Google to not force Original
Equipment Manufacturers(" OEMs") topre-install a bouquet of operations, not offer any financial or
other impulses to OEMs for icing exclusivity for its hunt services, and not circumscribe the
uninstallation of its pre-installed apps by the druggies.
After hearing arguments from both sides, the NCLAT, on March 29, 2023, upheld1 CCI's decision and
ruled that Google had eternalized its dominant position in the online hunt request, performing in the
denial of request access to other contending hunt apps. The NCLAT, still, deleted certain directions
of the CCI in paragraph nos.617.3,617.9,617.10, and 617.7 of CCI's order. NCLAT upheld other
directions given by CCI, including the duty of a forfeiture on Google to the tune of INR1337.76
Crores. This NCLAT ruling highlights the ongoing debate girding anti-competitive practices
and request dominance in the technology assiduity. Google's dominance in the smartphone
apps request in India and its control over the online hunt request were crucial factors in this case.
The ruling serves as a memorial to tech titans that vend dominance comes with a responsibility to
operate fairly and to avoid engaging in anti-competitive practices that circumscribe competition
and detriment consumers. As the technology assiduity continues to evolve, it'll be essential for
companies to operate in a manner that fosters fair competition, invention, and consumer protection.

CONCLUSION
the Competition Commission of India and Competition Act, 2002. The Competition Commission of
India (CCI) administers the Competition Act of India, enacted to promote fair competition, prevent anti-
competitive practices, and safeguard consumer welfare. CCI investigates anti-competitive conduct,
oversees mergers to prevent adverse effects on competition, and advocates for competition policy.
Comprising a Chairperson and members appointed by the government, CCI holds powers to penalize
violators and issue directives. Its mandate extends across sectors, aiming to ensure market efficiency
and protect smaller businesses. Through enforcement, regulation, and awareness campaigns, CCI
fosters a competitive landscape, contributing to economic growth and consumer choice while upholding
the principles of fair trade and market integrity in India.