Long Answer Type Questions<\/span><\/p>\nQuestion 1. \nExplain the rights and responsibilities of a consumer. \nAnswer: \nThe Consumer Protection Act, 1986 : The CPA seeks to protect and promote the consumer’s interest through speedy and inexpensive redressal of their grievances. The scope of the Act is very wide. It is applicable to all types of undertakings, big and small, whether in the private or public sector, or in the co-operative sector, whether a manufacturer or a trader, and whether supplying goods or providing services.<\/p>\n
The Act confers certain rights to consumers with a view to empowering them and to protect their interests.<\/p>\n
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Consumers Rights \nThe consumer Protection Act provides for six rights of consumers. The Consumer Protection Councils set-up under the Act are intended to promote and protect the various rights of consumers. These rights include the following<\/p>\n
1. Right to Safety The consumer has a right to be protected against goods and services which are hazardous to life and health. For instance, electrical appliances which are manufactured with substandard products or do not conform to the safety norms might cause serious injury. Thus, consumers are educated that they should use electrical appliances which are ISI marked as this would be an assurance of such products meeting quality specifications.<\/p>\n
2. Right to be informed The consumer has a right to have complete information about the product he intends to buy including its ingredients, date of manufactures, price, quantity, directions for use, etc. It is because of this reason that the legal framework in India requires the manufactures to provide such information on the package and label of the product.<\/p>\n
3. Right to choose The consumer has the freedom to choose from a variety of products at competitive prices. This implies that the marketers should offer a wide variety of products in terms of quality, brand, prices, size, etc and allow the consumer to make a choice from amongst these.<\/p>\n
4. Right to be heard The consumer has right to file a dissatisfaction with a good or a service. It is because of this reason that many enlightened business firms have set up their own consumer service and grievance cells. Many consumer organizations are also working towards this direction and helping consumers in redressal of their grievances.<\/p>\n
5. Right to seek redressal The consumer has a right to get relief in case the product or service falls short of his expectations. The Consumer Protection Act provides a number of reliefs to the consumer including replacement of the product, removal of defect in the product, compensation paid for any loss or injury suffered by the consumer, etc.<\/p>\n
6. Right to Consumer education The consumer has a right to acquire knowledge and to be a well-informed consumer through out life. He should be aware about his rights and the reliefs available to him in case of a product or service falling short of his expectations. Many consumer organisations and some enlightened business are taking an active part in educating consumers in this respect.<\/p>\n
The Consumer Protection Act by conferring these rights o the consumers empowers them to fight against any unscrupulous, exploitative and unfair trade practices adopted by sellers. Consumer rights, by themselves, cannot be effective in achieving the objective of consumer protection can, in effect, be achieved only when the consumer also understand their responsibilities.<\/p>\n
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Responsibilities of Consumers \nA consumer should keep in mind the following responsibilities while purchasing, using and consuming goods and services. \n1. Beaware about various goods and services available in the market so that an intelligent and wise choice can he made.<\/p>\n
2. Buy only standardized goods as they provide quality assurance. Thus, look for ISI Mark on electrical goods. FPO Mark on food products, Hallmark on jewellery etc.<\/p>\n
3. Learn about the risks associated with products and services, Follow, manufacturer’s instructions and use the products safely.<\/p>\n
4. Read labels carefully so as to have information about prices, net weight, manufacturing’and expiry dates etc.<\/p>\n
5. Assert yourself to ensure that you get a fair deal.<\/p>\n
6. Be honest in your dealings, choose only from legal goods and services and discourage unscrupulous practices like black-marketing, hoarding etc.<\/p>\n
7. Ask for a cash memo at the time of purchase of goods or services. This would serve as a proof of the purchase made.<\/p>\n
8. File a complaint in an approapiate consumer forum in case of a shortcoming in the quality of goods purchased or services availed. Do not fail to take an action even when the amount involved is small.<\/p>\n
9. Form Consumer Socities which would play an active part in educating consumers and safeguarding their interests.<\/p>\n
10. Respect the Environment. Avoid waste, littering and contributing to pollution.<\/p>\n
Question 2. \nWhat are various ways in which the objective of consumer protection can be achieved? Explain the role of consumer organisation and NGO’s in this regard. \nAnswer: \nA consumer’s awareness about his rights and responsibilities is just one of the ways in which the objective of consufner protection can be achieved. There are other ways in which this objective may be achieved. \n1. Self Regulation by business Enlightened business firms realize that it is in their long term interest to serve the customers well. Socially responsible firms follow ethical standards and practices in dealing with their customers. Many firms have set up their customer service and grievance cells to redress the problems and grievances of their consumers.<\/p>\n
2. Business AssociationsThe associations of trade, commerce and business like Federation of Indian Chambers of commerce (FICCI) and Confederation of Indian Industries (CII) have laid down their code of conduct which lay down for their members the guidelines in their dealings with the customers.<\/p>\n
3. Consumer Awareness A consumer, who is well informed about his rights and the reliefs available to him, would be in a position to raise his voice against any unfair trade practices or unscrupulous exploitation. In addition to this, an understanding of his responsibilities would also unable a consumer to safeguard his interests.<\/p>\n
4. Consumer OrganisationsConsumer organisations play an important role in educating consumers about their rights and providing protection to them. These organisations can force business firms to avoid malpractices and exploitation of consumers.<\/p>\n
5. GovernmentThe government can protect the interests of the consumers by enacting various legislations. The legal framework in India emcompasses various legislations which provide protection to consumers. The most important of these regulations is the Consumer Protection Act, 1986. The Act provides for a three-tier machinery at the District, State and National levels for redressal of consumer grievances.<\/p>\n
Role of Consumer organisations and NGO’s<\/strong><\/p>\n‘ In India, several consumer organisations and Non-governmental organisation (NGO\u2019s) have been set up for the protection and promotion of Consumer’s interests. Non-governmental organisations are non\u00acprofit organisations which aim at promoting the welfare of people. They have a constitution of their own and are free from government interference. Consumer organisations and NGO’s perform several functions for the protection and promotion of interest of consumers<\/p>\n
These include :- \n1. Educating the general public about Consumers rights by organising training programmes, seminars and workshops.<\/p>\n
2. Publishing periodicals and other publications to impart knowledge about consumers problems, legal reporting, reliefs available and other matters of interest.<\/p>\n
3. Carrying out comparative testing of consumers products in accredited laboratories to test relative qualities of competing brands and publishing the test results for the benefit of consumers.<\/p>\n
4. Encourging consumer to strongly protest and take an action against unscrupulous, exploitative and unfair trade practices of sellers.<\/p>\n
5. Providing legal assitance to consumers by way of providing aid, legal advice etc. in seeking legal remedy.<\/p>\n
6. Filing complaints in appropriate consumer courts, on behalf of the consumers.<\/p>\n
7. Taking an intiaive in filing cases in consumer courts in the interest of the general public, not for any individual. \nSome of the important consumer organisations and NGO\u2019s engaged in protecting and uromoting Consumer’s include the following.<\/p>\n
\nConsumer Ceerdination Council, Delhi<\/li>\n Common Cause, Delhi<\/li>\n Voluntary Organisation in Interest of Consumer Education (VOICE) Delhi.<\/li>\n Consumes Education and Research Centre (CERC), Ahmedabad.<\/li>\n Consumer Protection Council (CPC), Ahmedabad<\/li>\n Consumer Guidance Society of India (CGSI), Mumbai.<\/li>\n Munibai Grahak Panchayat, Mumbai<\/li>\n Karnatake Consumer Service Society, Bangalore.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n <\/p>\n
Question 3. \nExplain the redressal machanism available to consumers under the Consumer Protection Act, 1986. \nAnswer: \nRedressal Agencies under the Consumer Protection Act : For the redressal of consumer grievances, the Consumer Protection Act provides for setting up of a three-tier enforcement machinery at the District, Sate, and the National levels, known as the District Consumer Dispute Redressal Forum, State Consumer Disputes Redressal Commission, and the National Consumer Disputes Redressal Commission.<\/p>\n
They are briefly referred to as the ‘District Forum’, ‘State Commission’, and the ‘National Commission’, respectively. While the National Commission is set up by the Central Government, the State Commissions and; the District Forums are set up, in each State and District, respectively, by the State Government concerned.<\/p>\n
Figure 1 shows the hierarchical structure of this three-tire machinery\/Before studying the set-up and \nfunctioning of these redressal agencies let see how the Consumer Protection Act defines a consumer and who can file a complaint under the Consumer Protection Act. \n <\/p>\n
Consumer A ‘consumer’ is generally understood as a person who uses or consume goods or avails of any service. Under the Consumer Protection Act, a consumer is defined as :-<\/p>\n
a. Any person who buys any goods for a consideration, which has been paid or promised, or partly paid and partly promised, or under any scheme of deferred payment. It includes any user of such goods, when such use is made with the approval of the buyer, but does not include a person who obtains goods for re-sale or any comercial purpose.<\/p>\n
b. Any person who hires or avails of any service, for a considerations which has been paid or promised or partly paid and partly promised or under any system of deferred payment. It includes any beneficiary of services when such services are availed of with the approval of the person concerned, but does not include a person who avails of such services for any commercial purpose.<\/p>\n
Let us now see how the consumer grievances are redressed by the three-tier machinery under the Consumer Protection Act.<\/p>\n
District Forum . The District Forum consists of a President and two other members, one of whom should be a woman. They all are appointed by the State Government concerned. A complaint can to be made to the appropriate District Forum when the value of the goods or services in question, along with the compensation claimed, does not exceed Rs. 20 Lakhs.<\/p>\n
On receiving the complaint, the District Forum shall refer the complaint to the party against whom the complaint is filed. If required, the goods or a? sample there of, shall be sent for testing in a laboratory. The District Forum shall pass an order after considering the test report from the Laboratory and hearing to the party against whom the complaint is filed. In case the aggrieved party is not satisfied with the order of the District Forum, he can appeal before the State Commission within 30 days of the passing of the order.<\/p>\n
State Commission Each State Commission consists of a President dnd not less than two other members, one of whom should be a woman. They are appointed by the State Government concerned. A complaint can to be made to the appropriate State Commission when the value of the goods or services in questions, along with the compensation claimed, exceeds Rs. 20 lakhs but does not exceed Rs. 1 crore.<\/p>\n
The appeals against the orders of a District Forum can also be filed before the State Commission. On receiving the complaint, the State Commission shall refer the complaint to the party against whom the complaint is filed. If required, the goods or a sample thereof, shall be sent for testing in a laboratory.<\/p>\n
The State Commission shall pass an order after considering the test report from the laboratory and hearing to the party against whom the complaint is filed. In case the aggrieved party is not satisfied with the order of the State Commission, he can appeal before the National Commssion within 30 days of the passing of the order.<\/p>\n
National Commission The National Commission consists of a President and at least four other members, one of whom should be a wpman. They are appointed by the Central Government. A complaint can to be made to the National Commission when the value of the goods or services in question, along with the compensation claimed, exceeds Rs. 1 crore. The appeals against the orders of a State Commission can also be filed before the National Commission.<\/p>\n
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On receiving the complaint, the National Commission shall refer the complaint to the party against whom the complaint is filed. If required, the goods or a sample there of shall be sent for testing in a laboratory. The National Commission shall pass an order after considering the test report from the laboratory and hearing to the party against whom the complaint is filed.<\/p>\n
An order passed by the National Commission in a matter of its orginal jurisdiction is appealable before the Supreme Court. This means that only those appeals where the value of goods and services in question, along with the compensation claimed, exceeded Rs. 1 crore and where the aggrieved party<\/p>\n
Was not satisfied with the order of the National Commission, can be taken to the Supreme Court of India. Moreover, in a case decided by the District Forum, the appeal can be filed before the State Commission and, thereafter, the order of the State Commission can be challenged before the National Commission and no further.<\/p>\n
Relief Available If the consumer court is satisfied about the genuiness of the complaint, it can issue one or more of the following directions to the opposite party. \n1. To remove the defect in goods or deficiency in service. \n2. To replace the defective product with a new one, free from any defect. \n3. To refund the price paid for the product, or the charges paid for the service. \n4. To pay a resonable amount of compensation for any loss or injury suffered by the consumer due to the neglience of the opposite party. \n5. To pay punitive damages in appropriate circumstances. \n6. To discontinue the unfair\/restrictive trade practice and not to repeat it in the future. \n7. Not to offer hazardous goods for sale. \n8. To withdraw the hazardous goods from sale. \n9. To cease manufacture of hazardous goods and to desist from offering hazardous services. \n10. To pay any amount (not less than 5% of the value of the defective goods or deficient services provided), to be credited to the Consumer Welfare Fund or any other organisation\/person, to be utilized in the precribed manner. ‘ \n11. To issue corrective advertisement to neutralize the effect of a misleading advertisement. \n12. To pay adequate costs to the appropriate party.<\/p>\n
Application Based Questions<\/span><\/p>\nQuestion 1. \nVisit a consumer organisation in your town. List down the various functions performed by it. \nAnswer: \nAs mentioned in the question, students are advised to pay a visit to any consumer organisation operating in their town or nearby city and make a note of various functions performed by that organization to protect the consumers under Consumer Protection Act 1986, Mainly the functions of these organisation is to safeguard the interests of consumer against hazardous products and services or any deficiency in their delivery.<\/p>\n
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Question 2. \nCollect some newspaper cuttings of some consumer cases and the rulings given therein. \nAnswer: \nStudents are advised to visit website of various Consumer forums like National Consumer Disputes Redressal Commission i.e. www.necrc.nic.in. They may collect some newspaper cuttings of different court’s judgements on the topic.<\/p>\n
Case Problems<\/span><\/p>\nNow, filing complaint is just a click away. Filing a complaint in consumer court’s going to get a lot easier by the-end of this year, virtually. No matter which part of the country you’re in, it’s going to happen at the click of a mouse.<\/p>\n
The project, called Confonet (Computerisation and Computer Networking of Consumer Fora), is being executed on a turnkey basis by the National Informatics Centre (NIC).<\/p>\n
“Online registration of complaints, the government hopes, will promote e-governance, transparency, efficiency and streamlining of consumer fora,” said an official in the consumer affairs ministry. Of Rs. 48.64 crore set aside for the project, the government has released Rs. 30.56 crore so far, the official added.<\/p>\n
“Besides software development and testing, networking and project implementation, integration and site preparation, it will include purchase of hardware for all the 583 district fora, 35 state commissions and the National Commission,” the official said.<\/p>\n
At present, computer systems and system software have been delivered to 25 state commissions and 300 district fore – never mind the fact that it’s sometimes a long wait before the hardware is finally unpacked and set up in some of the districts. Meanwhile, training of staff, sometimes in the classroom and sometimes through e-learning sessions, are in full swing.<\/p>\n
“But just setting up an online complaint filing system won’t ensure a strong consumer protection movement in the country – for that .we’re working on GenNext and the next way to do that is tojro to schools,” the official said.<\/p>\n
The government is, therefore, involving school children to form consumer clubs so as to involve them in various consumer welfare activities.<\/p>\n
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Part of the funding for running the club is to come from various State Governments, with an equally matching grant from the Centre. Howevera number of state governments are yet to sanction the fund – some of these include Uttar Pradesh, Madhya Pradesh and Kerala. (Source – www.economictimes.indiatimes.com downloaded on 14\/3\/2007<\/p>\n
Question 1. \nWhat new measure is the ministry of consumer affairs taking to make filing of complaint easy? \nAnswer: \nIn the above case, filing a complaint in a consumer court, the government is going to get it easier. Online registration of complaints suggested by the respective state government will promote e-governance, transparency, efficiency and streamlining of complaints . in consumer fora. Rs. 48.64 crores set aside for such protect. “But just setting up an online complaint filing system won’t ensure a strong consumer protection movement in the country.<\/p>\n
Question 2. \nWhat role can you as a student play to contribute to the cause of consumer protection? \nAnswer: \nThe Government should work on GenNext and the best way to do that is to go to schools. The government is, therefore, involving school chi ldren to form consumer clubs so as to involve them in.various consumer welfare activities. Part of the funding for running such clubs is to come from various state governments, with an equally matching grant from the centre.<\/p>\n
Question 3. \nWhat scenario of consumer protection do you foresee when the measures proposed in the above news report are implemented? \nAnswer: \nAt present, Computer systems and system software have been delivered to 25 state commission and 300 districts forum. Meanwhile, training of staff, sometimes in the class rooms and sometimes through e-learning sessions, are in full swing. When all the state government will make serious attempt for strengthening the consumer’s rights, this Act will be a boon for redressing the consumer’s grievances.<\/p>\n
(Teachers are advised to help students to study judgements of various consumer forums including National Consumer 5 Disputes Redressal Commission at www.ncdrc.nic.in. This initiative will help the pupils to understand the role of consumer protection in India better. Various published material can also be used. Consumer, clubs in schools can also help the students in this regard)<\/p>\n
<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
Detailed, Step-by-Step NCERT Solutions for 12 Business Studies Chapter 12 Consumer Protection Questions and Answers were solved by Expert Teachers as per NCERT (CBSE) Book guidelines covering each topic in chapter to ensure complete preparation. Consumer Protection NCERT Solutions for Class 12 Business Studies Chapter 12 Consumer Protection Questions and Answers Class 12 Business Studies …<\/p>\n
NCERT Solutions for Class 12 Business Studies Chapter 12 Consumer Protection<\/span> Read More »<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":9,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"site-sidebar-layout":"default","site-content-layout":"default","ast-main-header-display":"","ast-hfb-above-header-display":"","ast-hfb-below-header-display":"","ast-hfb-mobile-header-display":"","site-post-title":"","ast-breadcrumbs-content":"","ast-featured-img":"","footer-sml-layout":"","theme-transparent-header-meta":"default","adv-header-id-meta":"","stick-header-meta":"default","header-above-stick-meta":"","header-main-stick-meta":"","header-below-stick-meta":"","spay_email":""},"categories":[3],"tags":[],"yoast_head":"\nNCERT Solutions for Class 12 Business Studies Chapter 12 Consumer Protection - MCQ Questions<\/title>\n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n\t \n\t \n\t \n