The following are some of the Acts passed by the Government of India for the protection of consumers’ interests.
(i) The Consumer Protection Act, 1986: This Act provides for the protection of consumer interests against various forms of exploitation such as defective goods, deficiency in services, unfair trade practices, etc. Under the Act, a three-tier machinery comprising of District Forum, State Commissions and the National Commission, has been set up for the redressal of consumer grievances.
(ii) The Contract Act, 1982: This Act defines the conditions under which the promises in a contract are binding. In addition, the remedies available in case of breach of contract are also specified in the Act.
(iii) The Sale of Goods Act, 1930: The Act provides protection and relief to the consumers in case the goods purchased by them do not abide by the expressed or implied conditions and warranties.
(iv) The Agriculture Produce (Grading and Marking) Act, 1937: This Act defines grade standards for agricultural and livestock commodities. It provides the procedure for grading, packing and marking of agricultural products. The quality certification mark provided by the Act is called as AGMARK.
(v) The Prevention of Food Adulteration Act, 1954: This Act is formed to check the adulteration in food items and to maintain their purity.
(vi) The Standards of Weights and Measures Act, 1976: This Act safeguards the interest of the consumers against exploitative practices related to under-weight and under-measure of the goods.
(vii) The Essential Commodities Act, 1955: This Act provides for control in production, supply and distribution of essential goods. It also controls inflationary trends and ensures equality in distribution of these goods. It also checks anti-social activities such as hoarding and black marketing.
(viii) The Trade Marks Act, 1999: This Act is formed to check the use of false marks on the goods and thereby, protects the consumers against such goods.
(ix) The Competition Act, 2002: This Act is formed to prevent such practices by the business firms that hinder competition in the market.
(x) The Bureau of Indian Standards Act, 1986: Under the Act, The Bureau of Indian Standards has been established that formulates the standards for the quality of the goods and based on these standards provides certification of quality through BIS certification scheme. The quality certification mark provided by the Act is called as ISI. In addition, a grievance cell has also been set up to redress complaints regarding the quality of the products.
