The Consumer Protection Bill was passed in by the LokSabha yesterday. The bill aims to establish the Central Consumer Protection Authority.
The Consumer Protection Bill replaces the Consumer Protection Act of 1986.The CCPA will take action as soon as a complaint is filed by a single consumer and has the authority to file class action suits as well.
The CCPA aims to ease the process of addressing the grievances of consumers.
This bill will impact brands and advertisers by imposing a penalty of upto rupees ten lakhs from the CCPA and comes with a imprisonment punishment for a term which may extend to five years. The bill also holds celebrity endorsers liable for misleading advertisements if due diligence is not conducted by the brand the celebrity according to the bill.
D Shivakumar, Chairman,ASCI commented on this development and said, “This is a great development in favour of consumers and ASCI welcomes the passing of the new Consumer Protection Bill. Protection of consumers’ interest is also ASCI’s core mission. As an expert body dealing with complaints pertaining to misleading advertisements, ASCI has been working closely with the Department of Consumer Affairs. Complaints being received on the GAMA portal are being examined by ASCI since the launch of the GAMA portal. We expect this co-regulation model to be strengthened further as per recommendations of the Parliamentary Standing Committee.”
