Consumer Court Jurisdiction, Pecuniary Jurisdiction of District, State and National Commission
On December 30, 2021, the Central Government notified Consumer Protection (Jurisdiction of the District Commission, the State Commission and the National Commission) Rules, 2021 in order to revise the pecuniary jurisdiction of District Commission, the State Commission and the National Commission.
Jurisdiction of District Commission: The District Commission shall have jurisdiction to entertain complaints where the value of the goods or services paid as consideration does not exceed fifty lakh rupees.
Jurisdiction of State Commission: The State Commission shall have jurisdiction to entertain complaints where the value of the goods or services paid as consideration exceeds fifty lakh but does not exceed two crore rupees.
Jurisdiction of National Commission: The National Commission shall have jurisdiction to entertain complaints where the value of the goods or services paid as consideration, exceeds two crore rupees.
Ministry of Consumer Affairs, Food & Public Distribution
Centre notifies rules for Consumer Protection (Jurisdiction of the District Commission, the State Commission and the National Commission) Rules, 2021
The revised pecuniary jurisdiction for entertaining consumer complaints shall be upto –
1) 50 lakh for District Commissions,
2) More than ₹50 lakh to ₹2 Crore for State Commissions and
3) More than ₹2 Crore for National Commission
In exercise of powers conferred by provisos to sub-section (1) of Section 34, sub-clause (i) of clause (a) of sub-section (1) of section 47 and sub-clause (i) of clause (a) of sub-section (1) of section 58 read with sub-clauses (o), (x) and (zc) of sub-section (2) of section 101 of the Consumer Protection Act, 2019, the Central Government has notified the Consumer Protection (Jurisdiction of the District Commission, the State Commission and the National Commission) Rules, 2021
The Consumer Protection Act, 2019 promulgates a three-tier quasi-judicial mechanism for redressal of consumer disputes namely district commissions, state commissions and national commission. The Act also stipulates the pecuniary jurisdiction of each tier of consumer commission. As per the existing provisions of the Act, District Commissions have jurisdiction to entertain complaints where value of the goods or services paid as consideration does not exceed one crore rupees. State Commissions have jurisdiction to entertain complaints where value of the goods or services paid as consideration, exceeds 1 crore rupees, but does not exceed 10 crore rupees and National Commission has jurisdiction to entertain complaints where value of goods or services paid as consideration exceeds 10 crore rupees.
After the Act came into force, it was observed that the existing provisions relating to pecuniary jurisdiction of consumer commissions were leading to cases which could earlier be filed in National Commission to be filed in State Commissions and cases which could earlier be filed in State Commissions to be filed in District Commissions. This caused a significant increase in the workload of District Commissions, leading to rise in pendency and delay in disposal of cases, defeating the very object of securing speedy redressal to consumers as envisaged under the Act.
With regard to revision of pecuniary jurisdiction, Central Government held wide consultation with States/UTs, consumer organizations, law chairs etc. and examined the issues that had created long pendency of cases in detail.
With notification of the aforementioned rules, the new pecuniary jurisdiction, subject to other provisions of the Act, shall be as under:
- District Commissions shall have jurisdiction to entertain complaints where value of the goods or services paid as consideration does not exceed 50 lakh rupees.
- State Commissions shall have jurisdiction to entertain complaints where value of the goods or services paid as consideration exceeds 50 lakh rupees but does not exceed 2 crore rupees.
- National Commission shall have jurisdiction to entertain complaints where value of the goods or services paid as consideration exceeds 2 crore rupees.
It may be mentioned that the Consumer Protection Act, 2019 stipulates that every complaint shall be disposed of as expeditiously as possible and endeavour shall be made to decide the complaint within a period of 3 months from the date of receipt of notice by opposite party where the complaint does not require analysis or testing of commodities and within 5 months if it requires analysis or testing of commodities.
Govt. revises pecuniary jurisdiction for entertaining complaints by consumer forums
The Govt. has notified the rules for Consumer Protection (Jurisdiction of the District Commission, the State Commission and the National Commission) Rules, 2021. As per the rules revised pecuniary jurisdiction for entertaining consumer complaints in respect of goods and services paid as consideration shall be up to:
i) 50 lakhs for District Commissions;
ii) More than 50 lakh to 2 Crore for State Commissions and
iii) More than 2 Crore for National Commission.
Earlier it Was: As per the existing provisions of the Act, District Commissions have jurisdiction to entertain complaints where value of the goods or services paid as consideration does not exceed one crore rupees. State Commissions have jurisdiction to entertain complaints where value of the goods or services paid as consideration, exceeds 1 crore rupees, but does not exceed 10 crore rupees and National Commission has jurisdiction to entertain complaints where value of goods or services paid as consideration exceeds 10 crore rupees.
FAQs on Consumer Protection Act 2019
The Consumer Protection: The Consumer Protection Act, 2019
| Title | Download / View |
|---|---|
| The Consumer Protection Act, 2019 | Download (1.18MB) |
| Corrigendum to CP Act 2019 | Download (2.73MB) |
| Notification regarding Consumer Protection Act, 2019 coming into force | Download (1.01MB) |
| Provisions of Act comes into force | Download (1.07MB) |
| Title | Download / View |
|---|---|
| The Consumer Protection (Salary, allowances and conditions of service of President and Members of the State Commission and District Commission) Model Rules, 2020 | Download (1.25MB) |
| The Consumer Protection (Qualification for appointment, method of recruitment, procedure of appointment, term of office, resignation and removal of the President and members of the State Commission and District Commission) Rules, 2020 | Download (1.24MB) |
| The Consumer Protection (Central Consumer Protection Council) Rules, 2020 | Download (1.29MB) |
| The Consumer Protection (Consumer Disputes Redressal Commissions) Rules, 2020 & The Consumer Protection (General) Rules, 2020 | Download (1.57MB) |
| The Consumer Protection (Mediation) Rules, 2020 | Download (1.36MB) |
| Consumer Protection (E-Commerce) Rules, 2020 | Download (1.22MB) |
| Corrigendum to The Consumer Protection (E-Commerce) Rules, 2020 | Download (770.71KB) |
| Consumer Protection (E-Commerce) (Amendment) Rules, 2021 | Download (1.49MB) |
| The Consumer Protection (Direct Selling) Rules, 2021 | Download (1.42MB) |
| The Consumer Protection (Jurisdiction of the District Commission, the State Commission and the National Commission) Rules, 2021 | Download (1.13MB) |
| The Central Consumer Protection Authority (Annual Report) Rules, 2021 | Download (1.62MB) |
| The Central Consumer Protection Authority (Form of annual statement of accounts and records) Rules, 2021 | Download (1.45MB) |
| The Consumer Protection (Jurisdiction of the District Commission, the State Commission and the National Commission) Rules, 2021. | Download (1.03MB) |
| The Consumer Protection (Search and Seizure and Compounding of offences by the Central Authority and Crediting of Penalty) Rules, 2021 | Download (2.04MB) |
| The Consumer Protection (Qualification for appointment, method of recruitment, procedure of appointment, term of office, resignation and removal of the President and members of the State Commission and District Commission) (Amendment) Rules, 2022. | Download (0.98MB) |
| The Consumer Protection (Consumer Disputes Redressal Commissions) Amendment Rules, 2022 | Download (461.55KB) |
| The National Consumer Disputes Redressal Commission (Group ‘C’ posts) Recruitment Rules, 2022 | Download (1.77MB) |
| The National Consumer Disputes Redressal Commission(Registrar) Recruitment Rules, 2023 | Download (1.33MB) |
| The National Consumer Disputes Redressal Commission(Group ‘A’ posts) Recruitment Rules, 2023 | Download (1.18MB) |
| The National Consumer Disputes Redressal Commission(Group ‘B’ posts) Recruitment Rules, 2023 | Download (1.40MB) |
| The National Consumer Disputes Redressal Commission (Other terms and conditions of service of officers and employees) Rules, 2023 | Download (1.33MB) |
| The Consumer Protection (Direct Selling) (Amendment) Rules, 2023 | Download (920.25KB) |
| The Consumer Protection (Consumer Disputes Redressal Commissions) (Amendment) Rules, 2023 | Download (1.43MB) |
| The Consumer Protection (Qualification for appointment, method of recruitment, procedure of appointment, term of office, resignation and removal of the President and members of the State Commission and District Commission) Amendment Rules, 2023 | Download (1.19MB) |
| Title | Download / View |
|---|---|
| Establishment of CCPA | Download (878.31KB) |
| The Central Consumer Protection Authority (Allocation and Transaction of Business) Regulations, 2020 | Download (1.10MB) |
| Title | Download / View |
|---|---|
| Consumer Protection (Consumer Commission Procedure) Regulations, 2020 | Download (1.48MB) |
| The Consumer Protection (Mediation) Regulations, 2020 | Download (1.53MB) |
| The Consumer Protection (Administrative Control over the State Commission and the District Commission) Regulations, 2020 | Download (1.27MB) |
| The Central Consumer Protection Authority (Procedure for Engagement of Experts and Professionals) Regulations, 2021 | Download (1.79MB) |
| The Central Consumer Protection Authority (Submission of Inquiry or Investigation by the Investigation Wing) Regulations, 2021 | Download (1.40MB) |
| The Guidelines for Prevention of Misleading Advertisements and Endorsements for Misleading Advertisements, 2022 | Download (1.17MB) |
| The Guidelines for Prevention and Regulation of Dark Patterns, 2023 | Download (1.43MB) |
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