In exercise of the powers conferred by sub-section (1) of
Section 103 of the Consumer Protection Act, 2019 (35 of 2019) and in
supersession of the Consumer Protection Regulations, 2005, except as respects
things done or omitted to be done before such supersession, the National
Consumer Disputes Redressal Commission, with the previous approval of the
Central Government, hereby makes the following regulations, namely: (1) These
regulations may be called the Consumer Protection (Consumer Commission
Procedure) Regulations, 2020. (2) They shall
come into force on the date of their publication in the Official Gazette. In these regulations, unless the context otherwise
requires,- (a) "Act"
means the Consumer Protection Act, 2019 (35 of 2019); (b) "agent"
means a person duly authorised by a party to present any complaint, appeal,
revision or to file written version or to file any written submissions and
address or plead, as the case may be, for and on behalf of such a party before
the Consumer Commission; (c) "Consumer
Commission" means a District Consumer Disputes Redressal Commission, a
State Consumer Disputes Redressal Commission or the National Consumer Disputes
Redressal Commission; (d) "Registrar"
means the head of the ministerial establishment of the Consumer Commission and
exercising such powers and functions as are conferred upon him by the President
of the Consumer Commission; (e) "rules"
means the rules made under the Act; (f) "section"
means a section of the Act; (g) words and
expressions used in these regulations and not defined herein, but defined
either in the Act or in the rules shall have the same meaning respectively
assigned to them either in the Act or in the rules, as the case may be. (1) A Consumer
Commission, being not a regular Court, shall have the arrangements as to depict
it distinct from a Court. (2) In the
hall in which the Consumer Commission shall hear the parties, the dais may not
be kept more than 30 centimetre in height than the place earmarked for the
parties to occupy. (3) At the
dais of the hall, the President and the members of the Consumer Commission
shall use the same type of chairs at the same level and these chairs need not
have high backs. (4) The
complainant and the opposite party can appear in person or through agent, or
through counsel. (1) The
President and members of every Consumer Commission while presiding over the
Benches, (a) shall wear
simple and sober dress; (b) shall not
wear (i) flashy
dress or dress displaying any affluence; (ii) Jeans or
T-shirts; (iii) such
dress, as may be prescribed for judges of the High Court or the District Court.
(2) The complainant, opposite party, counsel or agent shall also follow the
dress code as per clause (a) and sub-clauses (i) and (ii) of clause (b) of
sub-regulation (1). Subject to the provisions of any rules made in this
behalf, the normal working hours of the Consumer Commission for hearing matters
shall be from 10.30 a.m. to 1.00 p.m. and 2.00 p.m. to 4.30 p.m. on all working
days of the Central Government in the case of the National Commission and on
all working days of the State Government in the case of the State Commission
and the District Commission. (1) Tentative
Cause List of cases to be heard by the Consumer Commission in the following entire
week shall be made ready before the close of the working hours of the preceding
week and displayed on the notice board and shall also be hosted on the website
of the Consumer Commission. (2) The Final
Cause List of cases to be heard on the following day shall be made ready before
the close of the working hours of the preceding day and displayed on the notice
board and also hosted on the website. (3) The Cause
List shall be split into such different parts as may be decided by the Hon'ble
President of the National Commission from time to time. (4) Every
cause list shall contain the following particulars, namely: (i) Serial
Number; (ii) Number of
the matter; (iii) Names of
the parties; (iv) Name of
the party or Counsel or agent appearing. (5) If a date
of hearing is given in the presence of parties or their agents, it shall not be
a ground for non-appearance for the reason that the cause list for the
concerned date does not show the matter or contains incorrect entry or there is
omission of the particulars of the matter. (1) Where a
Complaint is filed in the District Commission, it shall be filed in three sets
with additional sets equal to the number of opposite parties. (2) Where the
Complaint or Appeal or Revision petition is filed before the State Commission,
it shall be filed in three sets or such number of sets as may be decided by the
President of the State Commission from time to time, with approval of the
President of the National Commission, with additional sets equal to the number
of opposite parties or respondents. (3) Where a
Complaint or Appeal or Revision Petition is filed in the National Commission,
it shall be filed in two sets and the sets for the Opposite parties or
respondents shall be filed within a week of admission of such case or issuance
of notice to the opposite parties. (4) Every
complaint shall clearly contain particulars of dispute and the relief claimed
and shall also be accompanied by copies of such documents as are necessary to
prove the claim made in the complaint. A complaint shall be referred to as Consumer Complaint or
C.C., an appeal shall be referred to as First Appeal or F.A., Revision Petition
as R.P., Execution Application as E.A., Appeal in Execution matters as A.E.,
Transfer Application as T.A., Review Application as R.A., Interim Application
as I.A. and Miscellaneous Application as M.A., followed by the number and the
year of filing. (1) Every
complaint, appeal, or revision petition shall after it is filed be numbered by
the Registrar. (2) If there
is any defect in the filing of the complaint, appeal or revision petition, the
particulars of such defects shall be recorded and the party or his agents shall
be informed of the defects asking them for removing the defects within fifteen
days. (3) In case
the party disputes the correctness of the defects pointed out, the matter shall
be placed before the Consumer Commission for appropriate orders. (4) After the
expiry of the time given, the matter shall, irrespective of the fact as to
whether the defects have been removed or not, be placed before the Consumer
Commission for appropriate orders. (5) If the
objections raised by the Registrar are substantial and are not removed within
the time allowed for the purpose, those days shall not be excluded for counting
the period of limitation. (6) The
admissibility of the complaint shall ordinarily be decided within twenty-one
days from the date on which the complaint is received as provided in the second
proviso to sub-section (2) of Section 36. (7) In case
any defect is pointed out by the Registrar, twenty-one days referred to in
sub-regulation (6) shall commence from the date on which such defect was
removed. (8) All
pending complaints, appeals and revision petitions which have not come up for
admission till the date of commencement of these regulations and are pending
for admission for more than twenty-one days shall be listed immediately by the
Consumer Commission for admission and not later than twenty-one days from the
date of commencement of these regulations. (1) Whenever
the Consumer Commission directs the issuance of a notice in respect of a
complaint, appeal or revision petition, as the case may be, to the opposite
parties or respondents, ordinarily such notice shall be issued for a period of
thirty days and depending upon the circumstances of each case, even for less
than thirty days. (2) When there
is a question of raising presumption of service, thirty days' notice shall be
required. (3) Whenever
notices are sought to be effected by a courier service, it shall be ascertained
that the courier is of repute. (4) While
appointing the courier for the purpose of effecting service, security deposit
may also be taken. (5) Along with
the notice, copies of the complaint, memorandum of grounds of appeal or
petition, as the case may be, and other documents filed shall be served upon
the opposite party or respondent. (6) After the
opposite party or respondent has put in appearance, no application or document
shall be received by the Registrar unless it bears an endorsement that a copy
thereof has been served upon the other side. (1) Every
proceeding before a Consumer Commission shall be conducted as expeditiously as
possible and as per the requirements of the Act. (2) The
Consumer Commission shall record the reasons for any adjournment made by it. (3) Request
for adjournment shall be entertained only in exceptional circumstances and for
reasons to be recorded in writing: . Provided that in case of a prayer for adjournment under
any other circumstances, the Consumer Commission may, unless sufficient cause
is shown, impose such cost, as it deems necessary, for granting such
adjournment. (4) The cost
imposed may be given to the other party or parties to defray his or their
expenses or be deposited in the Consumer Legal Aid Account to be maintained by
the respective Consumer Commission, as the Consumer Commission may order. (5) All orders
adjourning the matter shall be signed by the concerned President and members of
the Consumer Commission and not by the Court Master or Bench Clerk. Where a Bench, constituted by the President of the State
Commission or the National Commission as provided under sub-section (2) of
Section 47 or sub-section (2) of Section 58, as the case may be, does not have
a member with judicial background and any complex question of law arises and
there is no precedent to decide the law point, the Bench so constituted may
refer the matter to the President of the State Commission or the National
Commission, as the case may be, to constitute another Bench of which the
President shall be a member. (1) Arguments
should be as brief as possible and to the point at issue. (2) Where a
party is represented by a counsel, it shall be mandatory to file a brief of
written arguments two days before the matter is fixed for arguments. (3) In case of
default to file briefs, the Consumer Commission shall impose such cost as it
deems necessary. (1) Subject to
the provisions of Sections 40, 41, 50, 51, 60, 67 and 69, the period of
limitation in the following matters shall be as follows: (i) Revision
Petition shall be filed within ninety days from the date of receipt of
certified copy of the order; (ii) application
for setting aside the ex-parte order under Section 61 or dismissal of the
complaint in default shall be maintainable if filed within thirty days from the
date of the order or date of receipt of the order, as the case may be; (iii) an
application for review under Sections 40, 50 and 60 shall be filed to the
District Commission, the State Commission and the National Commission,
respectively, within thirty days from the date of the order; (iv) the period
of limitation for filing any application for which no period of limitation has
been specified in the Act or the rules or in these regulations shall be thirty
days from the date of the cause of action or the date of knowledge. (2) Subject to
the provisions of the Act, the Consumer Commission may condone the delay in
filing an application or a petition referred to in sub-regulation (1) if valid
and sufficient reasons to its satisfaction are given. (1) It shall
set out clearly the grounds for review. (2) Unless
otherwise ordered by the Consumer Commission, an application for review shall
be disposed of by circulation without oral arguments, as far as practicable
between the same members who had delivered the order sought to be reviewed. (1) Recognised
Consumer Organisations have a right of audience before the Consumer Commission. (2) An
authorisation of a Voluntary Consumer Organisation may be by way of special
power of attorney executed on a non-judicial paper or even on plain paper duly
attested by a Gazetted Officer or a Notary Public. (3) The Power
of Attorney holder shall be entitled to engage a counsel, if authorised to do
so. (4) A
Voluntary Consumer Organisation can engage a counsel or an advocate of its
choice or it can itself represent through one of its office bearers as per the
rules governing it. (5) In case of
a complaint where the Voluntary Consumer Organisation is a complainant along
with the consumer himself and the dispute affects the complainant individually,
he can withdraw the complaint: Provided that if the issue involves unfair trade practice
or restrictive trade practice a Voluntary Consumer Organisation may continue to
proceed with the complaint even if the complainant wishes to withdraw the same. (6) A Consumer
Commission has to guard itself from touts and busybodies in the garb of power
of attorney holders or unauthorized agents in the proceedings before it. (7) While a
Consumer Commission may permit an authorised agent to appear before it, but
authorised agent shall not be one who has used this as a profession: Provided that this sub-regulation shall not apply in case
of advocates. (8) An
authorised agent may be debarred from appearing before a Consumer Commission if
he is found guilty of misconduct or any other malpractice at any time. If an application for vacating or modifying or
discharging the ex parte interim order is filed by any of the parties, it shall
be decided within forty-five days and the Commission shall have the discretion
to extend the ex parte interim order if such application is not decided within
forty-five days. (1) An order
on the top right hand corner shall show as to when the complaint was filed and
the date of the order. (2) The cause
title of the order shall contain the names of all the parties with their
addresses. (3) In the
body of the order it is desirable that after mentioning the complainant or the
opposite party, their names as shown in the title be mentioned and parties
thereafter may not be mentioned as complainant or opposite party No. 1 or opposite
party No. 2, etc. (4) The cause
title shall also clearly show if the appellant or respondent was the
complainant or opposite party. (5) The order
of a Consumer Commission disposing of a matter shall be as short and precise as
practicable and unnecessary long quotations from the judgments of the higher
Courts or otherwise shall be avoided. (6) When a
copy of the order is sent to a party, the mode by which it is sent and the date
on which it is sent shall be stamped on the last page of the order. (7) The
Consumer Commission shall pass final order invariably within thirty days. (1) A Consumer
Commission is expected to dispose of maximum number of cases every month so as
to keep the pendency to a bare minimum. (2) A periodic
monthly return of institution and disposal of cases shall be sent by the
District Commissions to the State Commission. (3) The State
Commission shall submit a periodic monthly return of institution and disposal
of cases to the National Commission. (4) Notwithstanding
anything contained in this regulation, the President of the National Commission
may, at any time, call for any return or information relating to its
functioning from a State Commission or District Commissions. (1) In the
case of complaint, the record containing main files with original order sheet
shall be preserved for a period five years. (2) In the
case of records of appeal and revision petitions, it shall be preserved for
three years from the date of disposal of the appeal or revision as the case may
be. (3) Immediately
after the consumer complaint, appeal or revision petition, as the case may be,
is disposed of, extra sets shall be given to the parties who may use the same
for filing of appeal or revision petition and in that case the necessity to
summon the record from the Commissions below can be dispensed with. (4) The
Registrar shall inform the parties while forwarding the certified copy of the
final order, where they do not appear in person at the time of finally
disposing of the matter to arrange to collect the extra sets. (5) A period
of at least one month shall be given for the purpose of collection of records
by the party and in case of default the extra sets shall be weeded out. (1) A copy of
the final order is to be given to the parties free of cost as required under
the Act and the rules made thereunder. (2) In case a
party requires an extra copy, it shall be issued to him duly certified by the
Registry on a payment of rupees twenty irrespective of number of pages. (3) A
certified copy of an order shall clearly specify the date when free copy was
issued, date of application, date when the copy was made ready and the date
when it was so delivered to him. (4) Any party
desiring to get a certified copy of any document on the file of the Consumer
Commission, may get the same on payment of certification fee of twenty rupees
per copy: Provided that if any such document of which certified
copy is sought, is over and above five pages, an extra amount of one rupee per
page shall be charged over and above the fee of rupees twenty. (5) Certified
copy of any miscellaneous order passed by the Consumer Commission shall be
supplied on payment of rupees five per copy. Parties or their agents can inspect the records of matter
filed by them by filing an application on payment often rupees as fee. Wherever a complaint is required to be filed by the
Consumer Commission under sub-section (10) of Section 38, the Consumer
Commission may authorise its Registrar to file the complaint. The National Commission shall be entitled to issue
practice directions from time to time as may be necessary for the proper
conduct of the cases before Consumer Commission including prescribing forms for
complaints, notices, returns, certificate to be issued to the collector and the
like. Where a party appears in person and is illiterate, the
Court Master or Bench Clerk shall give to that party the next date of hearing
in writing. (1) In all
proceedings before the Consumer Commission, endeavour shall be made by the
parties and their agent to avoid the use of provisions of Code of Civil
Procedure, 1908 (5 of 1908): Provided that the provisions of the Code of Civil
Procedure, 1908 may be applied which have been referred to in the Act or in the
rules made thereunder. (2) Every
State Commission and every District Commission shall take steps for its
computerisation and networking. (3) The
Consumer Commission shall give proper respect and courtesy to the parties who
appear in person and shall provide separate accommodation in the Hall for the
convenience of the parties. (4) The
Consumer Commission shall not insist upon the parties to engage advocates. (5) The Fees
collected for inspection of the documents and supply of certified copies shall
be deposited in the account maintained for the purpose of depositing fee for
filing a complaint as prescribed by the Central Government by rules. (6) The cases
filed by or against the senior citizens, physically challenged, widows and
persons suffering from serious ailments shall be listed and disposed of on a
priority basis.CONSUMER
PROTECTION (CONSUMER COMMISSION PROCEDURE) REGULATIONS, 2020
PREAMBLE