Relevance of Consumer Protection Act, 2019 in E-Commerce

Abstract

Advancement in technology and modern consumer behavioural pattern has replaced the traditional mode of buying and selling practice of the consumer with the online mode of shopping which gives ease to the customer, to shop while sitting at his own space and placing order online and there after the product gets delivered at the customers address as opted. But this new technology-based shopping also brought many hassles to the customise online frauds, fake products, sub-standard products, debit card and credit card account hacking, no guarantee and warranty on products, jurisdictional issues, dubious product return policy, etc. In order to protect the interest of the Consumers, it was felt necessary to establish an adjudicatory mechanism to redress the grievance and issues of the consumer. Hence the Consumer Protection Bill came to existence on 1st of April 2020 after framing of the Consumer Protection Rules by the Central Government, for effective implementation of the act. This paper intends to highlight the issues which have not been addressed in the amended version of Consumer Protection Act 2019.