Ahmedabad, Sep 7: In the era of
increased online shopping, a study conducted by the Indian Institute of
Management-Ahmedabad (IIM-A) has stressed on a need for a separate law for
e-commerce with a view to protect rights of web consumers in India. ”To
effectively protect a consumer buying goods or services through e-commerce would
need a separate law, as other countries have,” said the study conducted by IIM
Ahmedabad. ”European Union has come up with ‘Directive on the Protection of
Consumers in respect of distance contract which the Union countries have given
effect to. The UK first gave effect to it with the Consumer Protection (Distance
Selling) Regulations 2002,” it said.
The recent study titled as ‘Consumer Rights in the New Economy: Amending the
Consumer Protection Act, 1986′ conducted by Professor Akhileshwar Pathak of
IIM-A also highlighted the problems faced by consumers in E-Commerce. ”In
E-commerce, numerous problems arise due to the buyer and seller being at a
distance. The buyer is not able to inspect or sample the goods or services. The
buyer necessarily pays through a card. This brings in the problem of fraudulence
in card payment,” it said.
The study has reviewed the proposed amendments in
the Consumer Protection Act, 1986, proposed by the union ministry of consumer
affairs. The Union Cabinet had in July approved the new bill as ‘Consumer
Protection Bill, 2015′ and Consumer Affairs Minister Ramvilas Pasvan had tabled
it in Lok Sabha as well. The new bill seeks to replace the 29-year-old law and
proposes to set up a Consumer Protection Authority which will also have the
power to initiate class suit against defaulting companies. The new bill came
against the backdrop of emergence of complex products and services in the era of
growing e-commerce business in India that has rendered consumers vulnerable to
new forms of unfair trade and unethical business practices.
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