Central Consumer Protection Authority

Central Consumer Protection Authority

Subject :Governance

Context:

• After the acid attack on a 17-year-old girl in Dwarka, the Central Consumer Protection Authority (CCPA) on Thursday issued notice to Flipkart and Amazon.

What is the Central Consumer Protection Authority:

•  Central Consumer Protection Authority is a regulatory body established in 2020 based on the provisions of the Consumer Protection Act, 2019 and works under the administrative control of the Ministry of Consumer Affairs.
• Itis headquartered in New Delhi

What are the Objective of Central Consumer Protection Authority:

• To promote, protect and enforce the rights of consumers as a class.
• To conduct investigations into violation of consumer rights and institute complaints.
• To order the recall of unsafe goods and services,discontinuation of unfair trade practices and misleading advertisements.
• To impose penalties onmanufacturers,endorsers and publishers of misleading advertisements.

What is the composition of Central Consumer Protection Authority

• The Central Consumer Protection Authority consists of following members appointed by the Central Government.
  • Chief Commissioner
  • Two Commissioners. One commissioner each for goods and services.
  • An Investigation Wing headed by a Director General.
• District Collectors too, have the power to investigate complaints of violations of consumer rights, unfair trade practices, and false or misleading advertisements.

What are the power and functions of Central Consumer Protection Authority(CCPA)

• CCPA can investigate matters relating to violations of consumer rights or unfair trade practices suo motu,
• Section 20 of the Act gives powers to the CCPA to order recall of hazardous goods.
• CCPA has the power to impose a penalty up to Rs 10 lakh, with imprisonment up to two years, on the manufacturer or endorser of false and misleading advertisements. The penalty may go up to Rs 50 lakh, with imprisonment up to five years, for every subsequent offence committed by the same manufacturer or endorser.
• CCPA has the power to ban the endorser of a false or misleading advertisement from making endorsement of any products or services in the future, for a period that may extend to one year. The ban may extend up to three years in every subsequent violation of the Act.