Lok Sabha passes Consumer Protection Bill to enforce consumer rights

Lok Sabha on Tuesday passed the Consumer Protection Bill that seeks to establish the Central Consumer Protection Authority (CCPA) to protect and enforce consumer rights.

The CCPA will take immediate action after a complaint is filed by even a single consumer and the authority can also file a class suit, Union Food and Consumer Affairs Ram Vilas Paswan said while speaking on the bill.

He said the overall purpose of the bill is to ease the process of addressing grievances of consumers.

The bill was introduced



on July 8.

The bill -- which would replace the Consumer Protection Act, 1986 -- proposes setting up of the Consumer Disputes Redressal Commission and forums at the District, State and National levels for adjudicating consumer complaints.

The Consumer Protection Bill, 2018, was introduced in Lok Sabha in January 2018 and was passed by the House the same year in December.

The bill, pending in Rajya Sabha, got lapsed after Lok Sabha dissolved. Hence, the government has brought in the new consumer protection bill.