 bill no 327 of  2015 the consumer goods (right to free return) bill, 2015 byshri nishikant dubey, mp a billto provide for consumers the right to free return of consumer goods within a stipulated time and for all matters connected therewith and incidental theretobe it enacted by the parliament in the sixty-sixth year of the republic of  india as follows:— chapter i preliminary1 (1) this act may be called the consumer goods (right to free return) act, 2015short title, extent and commencement(2) it extends to the whole of india(3) it shall be come into force on such date, as the appropriate government may, by notification in the official gazette, appoint, and different dates may be appointed for coming into force of different provisions of this act2 in this act, unless the context otherwise requires,—definitions(a) "appropriate government" means in the case of a state, the government of that state, and in all other cases, the central government;510(b) "consumer" means any person who 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 buyer of 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;(c) "consumer goods" mean products which are purchased for consumption by an average consumer;15(d) "durable goods" mean goods which are consumed and used or disposed after serving its usefulness for a period of time, which is more than two years, like refrigerator, laptops, television sets etc;(e) "manufacturer" have the same meaning as given in section 2(j) of the consumer protection act, 1986;20(f) "retailer" or "retail supplier" means any person who does the sale of goods from individuals or business to the end-user or final consumer and also includes online retail shops; and(g) "semi durable goods" mean those products which are neither perishing nor lasting, like cloths, preserved foods, furniture etc chapter ii procuring receipt and exchange of contract25receipt to act as a guarantee contract3 (1) the appropriate government shall make it mandatory for all retailers to give a receipt for every durable and semi durable consumer goods purchase by the consumers and such receipt of purchase shall act as contract between the retail supplier and the consumer, wherein the production of this receipt shall be a prerequisite for every claim made under the provisions of this act30(2) every receipt given to the consumer shall have consumer guarantees specified on it as under:—(a) that goods are of acceptable quality; (b) that goods will be reasonably fit for use;35(c) that the description of goods is accurate and it would match any sample or demonstration model;(d) that the goods will satisfy any extra promises made about them; and (e) that there is a 'right to free return' of the goods within fifteen days of its purchase chapter iii40 the right to free return4 every consumer shall have the right to return free any semi durable or durable goods purchased within fifteen days of the purchase in such manner as may be prescribed:right to free return valid till fifteen days from purchase45provided that every such return of goods shall be done in their original condition, with no alteration to its size or shape, along with its original packing and the receipt of the purchase5 the appropriate government shall ensure that all retail shops shall,—| (                                                                                   | a                                                                             | ) remove all signs that say 'no refund' or 'no replacement' from product   ||-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------|-------------------------------------------------------------------------------|----------------------------------------------------------------------------|| covers and the retail shops; and                                                    |                                                                               |                                                                            || 5                                                                                   |                                                                               |                                                                            || (                                                                                   | b                                                                             | ) display a board mentioning the right of consumers for free return of     || goods purchased by them                                                            |                                                                               |                                                                            || removal of                                                                          |                                                                               |                                                                            || no                                                                                  |                                                                               |                                                                            || replacement                                                                         |                                                                               |                                                                            || and no refund                                                                       |                                                                               |                                                                            || signs and                                                                           |                                                                               |                                                                            || display of                                                                          |                                                                               |                                                                            || right of                                                                            |                                                                               |                                                                            || consumers                                                                          |                                                                               |                                                                            || 6                                                                                  | a receipt of the purchase of goods shall be considered as guarantee itself    |                                                                            || and the retail supplier shall not ask for any further payment from the consumer for |                                                                               |                                                                            || receiving any guarantees                                                           |                                                                               |                                                                            || no payable                                                                          |                                                                               |                                                                            || payment for                                                                         |                                                                               |                                                                            || receiving                                                                           |                                                                               |                                                                            || guarantee                                                                          |                                                                               |                                                                            || 10                                                                                  |                                                                               |                                                                            || 7                                                                                  | if a consumer returns the defective goods to the retailer, the retailer shall |                                                                            || have the right to claim them against the wholesaler or the manufacturer, from whom  |                                                                               |                                                                            || he received the goods                                                              |                                                                               |                                                                            | chapter ivright of retailer to make claim against defective goods grievance redressal mechanism15right of consumers to move to court8 a conumer may in case of redressal of any grievance under this act move to the 'consumer disputes redressal forum' or to the 'state consumer protection council' or to the 'central consumer protection council' established under the consumer protection act, 198668 of 1986law enforcing agency209 the central consumer protection council established under cpa 1986 andthe agencies appointed by it shall be responsible for the enforcement of the provisions and rules made under this actdetails disclosed online for transparency10 the central consumer protection council shall publish on its website this act and rules made thereunder and also the details of complaints received by the authorities in district, state and central level, on different products, under the purview of this act, including details of:—25(a) the products returned; (b) the refund sought; (c) tracking the progress of each complaint with time line for completion;and(d) the complaint resolved30power to remove difficulty11 if any difficulty arises in giving effect to the provisions of this act, theappropriate government may make such order or give such direction, not inconsistent with the provisions of this act, as appears to it to be necessary or expedient for the removal of any difficultypower to make rules35 4012 (1) the central government, may by notification in the official gazette, make rules for carrying out the purposes of this act(2) every rule made under this act shall be laid, as soon as may be after it is made, before each house of parliament, while it is in session, for a total period of thirty days which may be comprised in one session or in two or more successive sessions, and if, before the expiry of the session immediately following the session or the successive sessions aforesaid, both houses agree in making any modification in the rule or both the houses agree that the rule should not be made, the rule shall thereafter have effect only in such modified form or be of no effect, as the case may be; so, however, that any such modification or annulment shall be without prejudice to the validity of anything previously done under that rule statement of objects and reasonsthe consumer protection act, 1986 is widely considered to be a benevolent social legislation that provides for the protection of consumer rights the fact was amended a number of times, the last being in 2002 the principal act, introduced in 1986 and subsequently amended, established consumer dispute resolution mechanisms and provides to control the trade of spurious goods and services through the authorities established it does not confer on the consumer a positive right which he can enforce himself in the context of increasing influx of imported goods to the country and the new trend of online shopping, it is necessary that the consumers are empowered to refuse a goods that does not satisfy the needs, without approaching forums or courtsthis bill makes it the right of a consumer to return any purchased product within a stipulated time for genuine reasons it seeks to provide the consumer a right to return any purchased durable or semi-durable goods within fifteen days of purchase it also provides that there should be a centralized database on complaints received and resolved by consumer protection councils and forums on goods purchased, so that before buying any product the consumer can make an informed choice to any terms agreed by both parties, retail supplier and consumer the bill seeks to provide additional statutory provisions for the benefit to the consumerthe enforcement of the act would be the responsibility of the authorities established under the consumer protection act 1986 this will ensure that there is no burden on the central or state governments for establishing additional authorities for monitoring and carrying out the purposes of this acthence this billnew delhi;nishikant  dubeynovember 13, 2015 memorandum regarding delegated legislationclause 12 of the bill gives power to the central government to make necessary rules for carrying out the purposes of the bill as the rules will relate to matters of detail only, the delegation of legislative power is of a normal character———— a billto provide for consumers the right to free return of consumer goods within a stipulated time and for all matters connected therewith and incidental thereto————(shri nishikant dubey, mp)gmgipmrnd—2916ls(s3)—08-12-2015