Amendments in Consumer protection act 2019

• Department of Consumer Affairs has sought comments/suggestions on proposed amendments in the Consumer Protection Act by 6th July 2021.
• New business processes like E-commerce and other market developments have transformed the way Consumers make transactions these days.

Key changes:

• The government makes it mandatory for all e-commerce entities to have a nodal compliance officer and a Resident grievance officer for redressing the grievances of the consumers on the e-commerce platform.
• Conventional flash sales by third-party sellers are not banned on e-commerce but certain e-commerce entities are hosting specific flash sales, and back-to-back sales which limit customer choice, increase price are not allowed.
• To protect the interests of consumers, mis-selling has been prohibited.

• To ensure that consumers are aware of the expiry date of the products they are buying on the e-commerce platform, all sellers on the marketplace are to provide the best before use information.
• E-commerce entities must also incorporate a filter mechanism to identify goods based on country origin and suggest alternatives to ensure a fair opportunity for domestic goods.
• Putting in place a framework for registration of every e-commerce entity with the Department for Promotion of Industry and Internal Trade (DPIIT) for allotment of a registration number which shall be displayed prominently on the website as well as invoice of every order placed the e-commerce entity.
• Provisions of Fall-back liability for every marketplace e-commerce entity have been provided.