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Mercantile Laws – II

Notes  the right to seek redressal against unfair trade practices or restrictive trade practices or
unscrupulous exploitation of consumers; and

 right to consumer education.
This is based on the basic rights of consumers as defined by the International Organisation of
Consumers (IOCU) viz., the Rights to Safety, to Information, of Choice, to be heard, to Redressal,
to Consumer Education, to Healthy Environment and to Basic Needs.

Notes According to the preamble, the Act is to provide for better protection of the interests
of consumers and for that purpose to make provision for the establishment of consumer
councils and other authorities for the settlement of consumers’ disputes and for matters
connected therewith.

Scope of the Act

The Act extends to the whole of India except the State of Jammu and Kashmir and applies to all
goods and services unless otherwise notified by the Central Government. The Act received the
Presidents assent on 24.12.1986. However, all provisions of the Act except those relating to
establishment, composition, jurisdiction, etc. of the Consumer Disputes Agencies (which came
into force on 1.7.1987) came into force on 15.4.1987

Definitions

Section 2(1) of the Act defines various terms used in the Act. Some of the definitions are given
hereunder:
Complainant means
(i) a consumer, or
(ii) any voluntary consumer association registered under the Companies Act, 1956, or under any
other law for the time being in force; or
(iii) the Central Government or any State Government, who or which makes a complaint; or
(iv) one or more consumers where there are numerous consumers having the same interest;

(v) in case of death of a consumer, his legal heir or representative;

who or which makes a complaint [Section 2(1)(b)]

An association of persons, to have locus standi as consumer, it is necessary that all the individual
persons forming the association must be consumers under Section 2(1)(d) of the Act having
purchased the same goods/hired the same service from the same party i.e. they should have a
common cause of action. Thus, unlike MRTP Act, 1969, the Redressal Machinery under Consumer
Protection Act, 1986 has no power to initiate cases suo-moto.
Complaint means any allegation in writing made, with a view to obtaining any relief, by a
complainant that

(i) an unfair trade practice or a restrictive trade practice has been adopted by any trader or
service provider;
(ii) the goods bought by him or agreed to be bought by him suffer from one or more defects;

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