What are the new provisions under the Consumer Protection Act, 2019 in comparison with COPRA, 1986?

The New Act has widened the definition of 'consumer'. The definition now includes any person who buys any goods, whether through offline or online transactions, electronic means, teleshopping, direct selling or multi-level marketing.  The doctor-patient relationship took a “contractual” form after the judgment passed in the Indian Medical Association v. V P Shantha case in 1995. From this judgment, we came to understand that the medical profession too was a form of service that came under the ambit of the Consumer Protection Act (CPA) 1986.  Some of the significant changes include pecuniary jurisdiction, the introduction of Alternate Dispute Resolution (ADR) mechanisms, new provisions for litigation, the introduction of regulators such as the Central Consumer Protection Authority and the institution of telemarketing. The district forum can now entertain consumer complaints where the value of goods or services paid does not exceed INR one crore. The State Commission can entertain disputes where such value exceeds INR ten Crore, and the National Commission can exercise jurisdiction where such value exceeds INR ten crore. The New Act provides flexibility to the consumer to file complaints with the jurisdictional consumer forum located at the place of residence or work of the consumer. The New Act also contains enabling provisions for consumers to file complaints electronically and for hearing and/or examining parties through video-conferencing. This video looks at these provisions, addresses their merits and demerits especially from a medical practitioner's perspective, and discusses its implications on medical practice in India.

• #people_blogs
• #cpa_2019
• #consumer_protection_act_2019
• #cpa_2020