The Centre on Thursday notified rules for Consumer Protection (Jurisdiction of the District Commission, the State Commission and the National Commission) Rules, 2021.
In exercising the powers conferred on it by the provisions of subsection (1) of Section 34, subsection (i) of subsection (a) of subsection (1) of section 47 and subsection (i) of subsection (a) of subsection (1) of section 58 read with subsection (o), ( x) and (zc) of subsection (2) of section 101 of the Consumer Protection Act, 2019, the Central Government has introduced Consumer Protection Laws (Regional Commission Area, National Commission and National Commission Rules), 2021, “said the Department of Consumer Affairs, Food and Distribution.
According to the notice, regional commissions will have the power to lodge complaints when the amount of goods or services paid does not exceed Rs 50 lakh. In addition, State commissions can consider complaints within Rs 50 lakh- Rs per crores.
The Consumer Protection Act, 2019 provides a three-pronged approach to resolving consumer disputes namely regional commissions, state commissions and national commissions. The law also sets out the administrative powers for each stage of the consumer commission.
In accordance with the existing provisions of the Act, Regional Commissions have the authority to appeal complaints when the value of goods or services paid as consideration does not exceed Rs one million. State Commissions have the power to lodge complaints when the amount of goods or services paid as a consideration, exceeds Rs 1 million, but does not exceed Rs 10 crore rupees and the National Commission has the authority to lodge complaints when the value of goods or services paid as contemplated exceeds Rs. 10 million.
After the enactment of the Act, it became apparent that the existing provisions relating to the financial authority of consumer commissions led to cases that could be referred to the National Commission for State Commissions and cases that could be referred to State Commissions to Regional Commissions.
“This has resulted in a significant increase in the work of the District Commissioners, which has led to an increase in the independence and delay in dismissal of cases, defeating the very purpose of obtaining immediate consumer redress as envisaged under the Act,” the Department said in its official release.
In terms of financial review, Central Government held extensive consultations with countries / UTs, consumer organizations, legal seats, etc. and examined the issues that led to the lengthy prosecution in detail.