Section 2 of Consumer Protection Act 2019: Important Definitions Explained

Section 2 of the Consumer Protection Act, 2019 contains the definitions used throughout India's current central consumer protection law. These definitions determine who is a consumer, what can constitute a complaint, defect or deficiency, and how concepts such as e-commerce, product liability, misleading advertisement and unfair trade practice are understood under the Act.

What is Section 2 of the Consumer Protection Act, 2019?

Section 2 is the definition provision of the Consumer Protection Act, 2019. It supplies statutory meanings for expressions used in the Act. These definitions are important because the maintainability and nature of a consumer dispute can depend on whether the parties, transaction, goods, services and alleged conduct fall within the expressions defined by Parliament.

The 2019 Act received Presidential assent on 9 August 2019. It modernised the earlier framework by expressly addressing online transactions and by introducing concepts such as the Central Consumer Protection Authority, e-commerce, electronic service provider, product liability and misleading advertisement.

Key definitions under Section 2

1. Advertisement: Broadly covers publicity through light, sound, smoke, gas, print, electronic media, internet, websites, labels, wrappers, invoices and similar means.
2. Complainant: Includes a consumer, a qualifying voluntary consumer association, the Central or State Government, the Central Consumer Protection Authority, consumers having the same interest, and specified legal representatives in appropriate cases.
3. Complaint: A written allegation seeking relief under the Act concerning matters such as unfair or restrictive trade practices, defective goods, deficient services, overcharging, hazardous goods or services, or a product liability claim.
4. Consumer: A person who buys goods or hires or avails services for consideration, including an approved user or beneficiary. Persons obtaining goods or services for resale or a commercial purpose are generally excluded. The livelihood-by-self-employment exception applies as provided in the Act. The definition expressly includes offline and online transactions through electronic means, teleshopping, direct selling and multi-level marketing.
5. Consumer dispute: A dispute in which the person against whom a complaint is made denies or disputes the allegations.
6. Consumer rights: These include protection against hazardous goods and services, access to relevant information, choice at competitive prices where possible, the right to be heard, the right to seek redressal and the right to consumer awareness.
7. Defect: A fault, imperfection or shortcoming in the quality, quantity, potency, purity or standard required by law, contract or a trader's representation in relation to goods or a product.
8. Deficiency: A fault, imperfection, shortcoming or inadequacy in the quality, nature or manner of performance of a service. The 2019 definition also includes specified negligence or omission or commission causing loss or injury, and deliberate withholding of relevant information from the consumer.
9. Direct selling: Marketing, distribution and sale of goods or provision of services through a network of sellers other than through a permanent retail location.
10. District Commission: The District Consumer Disputes Redressal Commission established under section 28 of the 2019 Act.
11. E-commerce: Buying or selling goods or services, including digital products, over a digital or electronic network.
12. Electronic service provider: A person who provides technologies or processes enabling a product seller to advertise or sell goods or services to a consumer, including online marketplaces and online auction sites.
13. Goods: Has the meaning assigned under the Sale of Goods Act, 1930 and includes food as defined under the Food Safety and Standards Act, 2006.
14. Misleading advertisement: An advertisement that falls within the statutory conditions in section 2, including false description, false guarantee, misleading representation regarding a product or service, deliberate concealment of important information, or other conduct covered by the definition.
15. Product liability: The responsibility of a product manufacturer or product seller of any product or a service provider to compensate for harm caused to a consumer by a defective product manufactured or sold or by deficiency in related services.
16. Service: Service of any description made available to potential users, including specified facilities such as banking, financing, insurance, transport, processing, energy supply, telecom, boarding or lodging, housing construction, entertainment and news or information. It excludes service rendered free of charge or under a contract of personal service.
17. Unfair trade practice: A trade practice adopting an unfair method or unfair or deceptive practice for promoting the sale, use or supply of goods or for providing services. The 2019 Act specifies several forms of such conduct, including false representations and other prohibited practices.

The descriptions above are concise explanations for general reference. For exact statutory wording and all definitions in Section 2, consult the official text of the Act.

How the 2019 Act differs from the repealed 1986 Act

The uploaded page reproduced Section 2 of the Consumer Protection Act, 1986, including the older definitions of consumer, complaint, defect, deficiency, service and unfair trade practice. It also used the former expression "District Forum." Under the current statute, the corresponding adjudicatory body is the "District Commission." The 2019 Act also contains definitions designed for modern markets, including e-commerce and electronic service providers, and a statutory product-liability framework.

For older disputes and actions arising under the repealed Act, section 107 of the 2019 Act contains repeal and savings provisions. The applicable law in a particular proceeding may therefore depend on the relevant dates, the nature of the proceeding and the savings clause.

Official legal resources

For authoritative statutory text, see the Consumer Protection Act, 2019 on India Code. The Department of Consumer Affairs copy of the Consumer Protection Act, 2019 is also available online.

Historical note on Section 2 of the Consumer Protection Act, 1986

The earlier Section 2 defined expressions including appropriate laboratory, branch office, complainant, complaint, consumer, consumer dispute, defect, deficiency, District Forum, goods, manufacturer, National Commission, person, restrictive trade practice, service, State Commission, trader and unfair trade practice. That material remains relevant when researching proceedings governed by the repealed legislation, but it should not be presented as the current definition provision without the repeal-and-savings qualification.