The Central Consumer Protection Authority (CCPA) has till now imposed penalties worth Rs 10 lakh each on home shopping company Naaptol, toothpaste maker Sensodyne, and Sure Vision India, which manufactures vision correction equipment. In the past two years, CCPA has also issued 129 notices to companies and closed 25 cases of consumer complaints against firms.
Penalties worth Rs 1 lakh have been imposed on Paytm Mall and Snapdeal, CCPA Chairperson Nidhi Khare told the press at a briefing on July 26. Naaptol and Paytm Mall have already deposited the penalty amount, she added.
Formed in 2019 under the Consumer Protection Act, 2019 (Act 35 of 2019), the CCPA is empowered to issue necessary guidelines to prevent unfair trade practices and protect consumers' interests.
14 rules and 5 regulations have been notified under the Consumer Protection Act. District collectors have also been given the right to take enforcement actions in violations of consumer rights.
Khare said in the first two years of its existence, the CCPA issued 71 notices for misleading advertisement, 49 for unfair trade practices, and 94 violations of consumer rights. Subsequently, 14 companies have retracted their advertisement.
Three companies, Godrej, Greenlam, and Centuryply have agreed to correct their advertisements, after initially claiming their products offered 99 percent protection against COVID.
Meanwhile, Club Mahindra was the company with the most number of complaints against it at 150. The complaints against it include misuse of the floating week timeshare model, misleading advertisement, and marketing and fraud to obtain contracts, among others.
E-commerce & EVs
Khare said complaints related to e-commerce have increased to 30-40 percent over the last 4-5 years. The government has swung into action against unfair trade practices prevalent on e-commerce platforms after the pandemic as there had been a noticeable shift in consumer patterns exponentially favouring e-commerce.
Amazon, Flipkart, ShopClues, Paytm Mall, and Snapdeal have been issued notices by CCPA for selling non-ISI Mark Pressure Cookers
Ten sellers who sold these products on these platforms have also been sent notices by the CCPA. Officials said final orders in the cases of these notices are likely to be issued soon.
The CCPA has also taken suo moto action, and issued notices to 4-5 companies noting the recent spate of electric vehicle fires across the country, Khare said. The Defence Research and Development Organisation (DRDO) has also been informed, she said.
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