In this Act, unless the context otherwise requires,—

1. “advertisement” means any audio or visual publicity, representation, endorsement or pronouncement made by means of light, sound, smoke, gas, print, electronic media, internet or website and includes any notice, circular, label, wrapper, invoice or such other documents;
2. “appropriate laboratory” means a laboratory or organisation—
   1. recognised by the Central Government;
   2. recognised by a State Government, subject to such guidelines as may be prescribed by the Central Government in this behalf; or
   3. any such laboratory or organisation established by or under any law for the time being in force, which is maintained, financed or aided by the Central Government or a State Government for carrying out analysis or test of any goods with a view to determining whether such goods suffer from any defect;
3. “branch office” means—
   1. any establishment described as a branch by the opposite party; or
   2. any establishment carrying on either the same or substantially the same activity as that carried on by the head office of the establishment;
4. “Central Authority” means the Central Consumer Protection Authority established under section 10;
5. “complainant” means—
   1. a consumer; or
   2. any voluntary consumer association registered under any law for the time being in force; or
   3. the Central Government or any State Government; or
   4. the Central Authority; or
   5. one or more consumers, where there are numerous consumers having the same interest; or
   6. in case of death of a consumer, his legal heir or legal representative; or
   7. in case of a consumer being a minor, his parent or legal guardian;
6. “complaint” means any allegation in writing, made by a complainant for obtaining any relief provided by or under this Act, that—
   1. an unfair contract or unfair trade practice or a restrictive trade practice has been adopted by any trader or service provider;
   2. the goods bought by him or agreed to be bought by him suffer from one or more defects;
   3. the services hired or availed of or agreed to be hired or availed of by him suffer from any deficiency;
   4. a trader or a service provider, as the case may be, has charged for the goods or for the services mentioned in the complaint, a price in excess of the price—
      1. fixed by or under any law for the time being in force; or
      2. displayed on the goods or any package containing such goods; or
      3. displayed on the price list exhibited by him by or under any law for the time being in force; or
      4. agreed between the parties;
   5. the goods which are hazardous to life and safety when used are being offered for sale to the public in contravention of the provisions of any law for the time being in force;
   6. the services which are hazardous or likely to be hazardous to life and safety of the public when used, are being offered by a person who provides any service and who does not possess adequate qualifications or competence to dispense or render such services;
   7. a trader or a service provider has issued goods or provided services with unfair terms or conditions exclusively for profit;
7. “consumer” means any person who—
   1. buys any goods for a consideration which has been paid or promised or partly paid and partly promised, or under any system of deferred payment and includes any user of such goods other than the person who buys such goods for consideration paid or promised or partly paid or partly promised, or under any system of deferred payment, when such use is made with the approval of such person, but does not include a person who obtains such goods for resale or for any commercial purpose; or
   2. hires or avails of any service for a consideration which has been paid or promised or partly paid and partly promised, or under any system of deferred payment and includes any beneficiary of such service other than the person who hires or avails of the services for consideration paid or promised, or partly paid and partly promised, or under any system of deferred payment, when such services are availed of with the approval of the first mentioned person, but does not include a person who avails of such service for any commercial purpose.

   Explanation.—For the purposes of this clause,—

   1. the expression “commercial purpose” does not include use by a person of goods bought and used by him exclusively for the purpose of earning his livelihood, by means of self-employment;
   2. the expressions “buys any goods” and “hires or avails any services” includes offline or online transactions through electronic means or by teleshopping or direct selling or multi-level marketing;

8. “consumer dispute” means a dispute where the person against whom a complaint has been made, denies or disputes the allegations contained in the complaint;
9. “consumer rights” means the rights of the consumers provided under section 2, clause (9)—
   1. the right to be protected against the marketing of goods, products or services which are hazardous to life and property;
   2. the right to be informed about the quality, quantity, potency, purity, standard and price of goods, products or services, as the case may be, so as to protect the consumer against unfair trade practices;
   3. the right to be assured, wherever possible, access to a variety of goods, products or services at competitive prices;
   4. the right to be heard and to be assured that consumers interests will receive due consideration at appropriate fora;
   5. the right to seek redressal against unfair trade practice or restrictive trade practice or unscrupulous exploitation of consumers; and
   6. the right to consumer awareness;
10. “defect” means any fault, imperfection or shortcoming in the quality, quantity, potency, purity or standard which is required to be maintained by or under any law for the time being in force or under any contract, express or implied, or as is claimed by the trader in any manner whatsoever in relation to any goods or product and the expression “defective” shall be construed accordingly;
11. “deficiency” means any fault, imperfection, shortcoming or inadequacy in the quality, nature and manner of performance which is required to be maintained by or under any law for the time being in force or has been undertaken to be performed by a person in pursuance of a contract or otherwise in relation to any service and includes—
    1. any act of negligence or omission or commission by such person which causes loss or injury to the consumer; and
    2. deliberate withholding of relevant information by such person to the consumer;
12. “design”, in relation to a product, means the design of the product, the formulation of the product, and the manner in which the product has been constructed;
13. “District Commission” means a District Consumer Disputes Redressal Commission established under section 28;
14. “District Collector” means the Collector or Deputy Commissioner or District Magistrate of a district, by whatever name called, and includes any officer of the State Government authorised by the State Government to exercise the powers and perform the duties of the District Collector;
15. “e-commerce” means buying or selling of goods or services including digital products over digital or electronic network;
16. “electronic service provider” means a person who provides technologies or processes to enable a product seller to engage in advertising or selling goods or services to a consumer and includes any online market place or online auction site;
17. “endorsement”, in relation to an advertisement, means—
    1. any message, verbal statement, demonstration; or
    2. depiction of the name, signature, likeness or other identifiable personal characteristics of an individual; or
    3. depiction of the name or seal of any institution or organisation,

    which makes the consumer to believe that it reflects the opinion, finding or experience of the person making such endorsement;

18. “establishment” includes an advertising agency, a commission agent, a manufacturing, trading or any other commercial agency which carries on any business, trade or profession;
19. “express warranty” means any material statement, affirmation of fact, promise or description relating to a product or service warranting that it conforms to such material statement, affirmation, promise or description and includes any sample or model of a product warranting that the whole of such product conforms to such sample or model;
20. “goods” means every kind of movable property and includes “food” as defined in clause (j) of sub-section (1) of section 3 of the Food Safety and Standards Act, 2006;
21. “harm”, in relation to a product liability, includes—
    1. damage to any property, other than the product itself;
    2. personal injury, illness or death;
    3. mental agony or emotional distress attendant to personal injury or illness or damage to property; or
    4. any loss of consortium or services or other loss resulting from a harm referred to in sub-clause (a) or sub-clause (b) or sub-clause (c);
22. “injury” means any harm whatever illegally caused to any person, in body, mind or property;
23. “manufacturer” means a person who—
    1. makes any goods or parts thereof; or
    2. does not make any goods but assembles parts thereof made by others and claims the end-product to be goods made by himself; or
    3. puts or causes to be put his own mark on any goods made by any other manufacturer and claims such goods to be goods made by himself;

    Explanation.—Where a manufacturer dispatches any goods or part thereof to any branch office maintained by him, such branch office shall not be deemed to be the manufacturer even though the parts so dispatched to it are assembled at such branch office andices and theices are sold or distributed from such branch office;

24. “mediation” means the process by which a mediator mediates the consumer dispute and includes conciliation;
25. “mediator” means a mediator referred to in section 75;
26. “member” includes the President and a member of the National Commission or a State Commission or a District Commission, as the case may be;
27. “misleading advertisement” in relation to any product or service, means an advertisement, which—
    1. falsely describes such product or service; or
    2. gives a false guarantee to, or is likely to mislead the consumers as to the nature, substance, quantity or quality of such product or service; or
    3. conveys an express or implied representation which, if made by the manufacturer or seller or service provider thereof, would constitute an unfair trade practice; or
    4. deliberately conceals important information;
28. “National Commission” means the National Consumer Disputes Redressal Commission established under section 53;
29. “notification” means a notification published in the Official Gazette and the expression “notify” shall be construed accordingly;
30. “person” includes—
    1. an individual;
    2. a firm whether registered or not;
    3. a Hindu undivided family;
    4. a co-operative society;
    5. an association of persons whether registered under the Societies Registration Act, 1860 or not;
    6. any corporation, company or a body of individuals, whether incorporated or not;
    7. any artificial juridical person, not falling within any of the preceding sub-clauses;
31. “prescribed” means prescribed by rules made under this Act;
32. “product” means any article or goods or substance or raw material or any extended cycle of such product, which may be in gaseous, liquid, or solid state possessing intrinsic value which is capable of delivery either as wholly assembled or as a component part and is produced for introduction to trade or commerce, but does not include human tissues, blood, blood products and organs;
33. “product liability” means the responsibility of a product manufacturer or product seller, of any product or service, to compensate for any harm caused to a consumer by such defective product manufactured or sold or by deficiency in services relating thereto;
34. “product liability action” means a complaint filed by a person before a District Commission or State Commission or National Commission, as the case may be, for claiming compensation for the harm caused to him;
35. “product manufacturer” means a person who—
    1. makes any product or parts thereof; or
    2. assembles parts thereof made by others; or
    3. puts or causes to be put his own mark on any product made by any other person;
36. “product seller”, in relation to a product, means a person who, in the course of business, imports, sells, distributes, leases, installs, prepares, packages, labels, markets, repairs, maintains, or otherwise is involved in placing, a product before the consumer and includes—
    1. a manufacturer who is also a seller; and
    2. a service provider,

    but does not include—

    1. a seller of immovable property, unless such person is engaged in the construction of such property; or
    2. a provider of professional services in respect of a product;

37. “product service provider” means a person who provides any service in respect of such product;
38. “regulations” means the regulations made under this Act;
39. “restrictive trade practice” means a trade practice which tends to bring about manipulation of price or its conditions of delivery or to affect flow of supplies in the market relating to goods or services in such a manner as to impose on the consumers unjustified costs or restrictions and shall include—
    1. delay beyond the period agreed to by a trader in supply of such goods or in providing the services which has led or is likely to lead to rise in the price;
    2. any trade practice which requires a consumer to buy, hire or avail of any goods or, as the case may be, services as condition precedent to buying, hiring or availing of other goods or services;
40. “service” means service of any description which is made available to potential users and includes, but not limited to, the provision of facilities in connection with banking, financing, insurance, transport, processing, supply of electrical or other energy, telecom, boarding or lodging or both, housing construction, entertainment, amusement or the purveying of news or other information, but does not include the rendering of any service free of charge or under a contract of personal service;
41. “spurious goods” means such goods which are falsely claimed to be genuine;
42. “State Commission” means a State Consumer Disputes Redressal Commission established under section 42;
43. “trader”, in relation to any goods, means a person who sells or distributes any goods for sale and includes the manufacturer thereof, and where such goods are sold or distributed in package form, includes the packer thereof;
44. “unfair contract” means a contract or agreement entered into between a manufacturer or trader or service provider on one hand and a consumer on the other hand, which has such terms which cause significant change in the rights of such consumer, including the following, namely:—
    1. requiring manifestly excessive security deposits to be given by a consumer for the performance of contractual obligations; or
    2. imposing any penalty on the consumer for the breach of contract which is wholly disproportionate to the loss occurred due to such breach to the other party to the contract; or
    3. refusing to accept early repayment of debts on payment of applicable penalty; or
    4. entitling a party to the contract to terminate such contract unilaterally, without reasonable cause; or
    5. permitting or has the effect of permitting one party to assign the contract to the detriment of the other party who is a consumer, without his consent; or
    6. imposing on the consumer any unreasonable charge, obligation or condition which puts such consumer to disadvantage;
45. “unfair trade practice” means a trade practice which, for the purpose of promoting the sale, use or supply of any goods or for the provision of any service, adopts any unfair method or unfair or deceptive practice including any of the following practices, namely:—
    1. making any statement, whether orally or in writing or by visible representation including by means of electronic record, which—
       1. falsely represents that the goods are of a particular standard, quality, quantity, grade, composition, style or model;
       2. falsely represents that the services are of a particular standard, quality or grade;
       3. falsely represents any re-built, second-hand, renovated, reconditioned or old goods as new goods;
       4. represents that the goods or services have sponsorship, approval, performance, characteristics, accessories, uses or benefits which such goods or services do not have;
       5. represents that the seller or the supplier has a sponsorship or approval or affiliation which such seller or supplier does not have;
       6. makes a false or misleading representation concerning the need for, or the usefulness of, any goods or services;
       7. gives to the public any warranty or guarantee of the performance, efficacy or length of life of a product or of any goods that is not based on an adequate or proper test thereof;
       8. makes to the public a representation in a form that purports to be a warranty or guarantee of a product or of any goods or services or a promise to replace, maintain or repair an article or any part thereof or to repeat or continue a service until it has achieved a specified result, if such purported warranty or guarantee or promise is materially misleading;
       9. materially misleads the public concerning the price at which a product or like products or goods or services, have been or are, ordinarily sold or provided;
       10. gives false or misleading facts disparaging the goods, services or trade of another person;
    2. permitting the publication of any advertisement whether in any newspaper or otherwise, for the sale or supply at a bargain price, of goods or services that are not intended to be offered for sale or supply at the bargain price, for a period that is, and in quantities that are, reasonable, having regard to the nature of the market in which the business is carried on, the nature and size of business, and the nature of the advertisement;
    3. permitting the offering of gifts, prizes or other items with the intention of not providing them as offered or creating impression that something is being given or offered free of charge when it is fully or partly covered by the amount charged in the transaction as a whole;
    4. permitting the conduct of any contest, lottery, game of chance or skill, for the purpose of promoting, directly or indirectly, the sale, use or supply of any product or any business interest;
    5. withholding from the participants of any scheme offering gifts, prizes or other items free of charge, on its closure, the information about final results of the scheme;
    6. making any statement, whether orally or in writing or by visible representation including by means of electronic record which is false or misleading;