The Consumer Protection Act, 2019 (CPA 2019) is an Act of the Parliament of India, cited as Act No. 35 of 2019, designed to protect the interests of consumers and provide for the timely settlement of disputes.
The Act originated to address the limitations of the pre-globalisation era Consumer Protection Act, 1986 (COPRA), which it repealed and replaced. Introduced in the Lok Sabha on July 8, 2019, and assented to by the President on August 9, 2019, the CPA 2019 was necessary to tackle new challenges arising from the rise of e-commerce and modern market practices.
The Act works through several key mechanisms. A major addition is the establishment of the Central Consumer Protection Authority (CCPA), a statutory body constituted in July 2020 under Section 10(1). The CCPA is empowered to regulate and enforce consumer rights, including imposing penalties up to ₹10 lakh for false or misleading advertisements and ordering product recalls. The Act also introduces the concept of Product Liability, holding manufacturers and sellers accountable for defective products. While retaining the three-tier structure of the Consumer Disputes Redressal Commissions (CDRCs) at the district, state, and national levels, the CPA 2019 allows consumers to file complaints from their place of residence and introduces mediation as an alternate dispute resolution method. The Act connects directly to the Consumer Protection (E-commerce) Rules, 2020, by including specific obligations for e-commerce entities. The core structure of the three-tier redressal mechanism stayed the same, but the new Act introduced the CCPA, Product Liability, and specific provisions for e-commerce.