Amendments Proposed in Consumer Protection Act to Facilitate Faster Disposal and On line filing of consumer complaints

'via Blog this'

The Government has introduced Consumer Protection (Amendment) Bill, 2011, in Lok Sabha on December 16, 2011, to facilitate quicker disposal of cases and to widen and amplify the scope of some of the provisions of the Act. The enactment of the Consumer Protection Act, 1986, was an important milestone in the field of consumer protection. In terms of the Act, consumer disputes redressal agencies have been set up at the 629 District, 35 State and National levels to render simple, inexpensive and speedy justice to consumers in respect of complaints against defective goods, deficient services and unfair/restrictive trade practices. With a view to faster redressal of complaints and to rationalize procedure of appointments in consumer disputes redressal agencies, it has been felt necessary to amend the Act.

Amendments proposed provide for the following-

On line filing of consumer complaints
Making provision for registering complaint by electronic form (on line filing complaint)- Since the Consumer Forums are being computerized it is proposed to make provision in the law to permit consumers to file complaints as well as pay fee online, which would make the consumer for a move towards e-governance/ time bound redressal.

Enforcement of orders as a Decree of Civil Court
Making provision that an order of the District Forum / State Commission/ National Commission will be enforced as a Decree of a Civil Court- This modification is considered essential in view of the experiences gained during implementation of the amended Act and is intended to deter willful offenders and also to ensure speedy and proper execution of the order of the consumer forums, so that justice to the aggrieved consumers is not frustrated.

Payment to be made for non-compliance of the order
Making provision for payment by every person for not complying of the order of District Forum / State Commission / National Commission of an amount of not less than Rs. 500 or 1½ per cent of the value of the amount awarded- whichever is higher, for each day of delay of such non-compliance of the order. This modification is considered essential in view of the experiences gained during implementation of the amended Act and is intended to deter willful offenders and also to ensure speedy and proper execution of the orders of the consumer forums, so that justice to the aggrieved consumers is not frustrated.

Powers to District Forum
Empowering District Forum to function in any other place apart from District HQrs, in consultation with State Government / State Commission – This provision is considered necessary to allow State Governments the flexibility to club neighboring Districts Forum as also give additional charge to President/Members to hear cases in more than one District Forum so as to effectively deal with the non-functionality of Districts Forum caused due to vacancy of President/Member.
Conferring powers to District Forum to issue order to the opposite party to pay reasonable rate of interest on such price or charges as may be decided by the District Forum- This provision is considered necessary to empower the consumer forum to award interest where the consumer has suffered due to protracted litigation.

Powers to State Government in selection process
Empowering State Government to refer back the recommendation of the Selection Committee for making fresh recommendation in order to avoid any delay in the Selection process- This is felt necessary to facilitate quicker filling up of the posts in the Consumer Forums and to avoid the consumer Forum remaining non-functional for long due to such vacancy thereby adversely affecting consumers’ interest.

Increase of age in the appointment
Increasing the minimum age for appointment as Member in the case of State Commissions from 35 to 45 years, and in case of National Commission from 35 to 55 years- This is proposed to improve the quality of persons applying for these posts.

Experience for members
Increasing the period of experience for appointment as Member in the case of State Commission from 10 years to 20 years and in the case of National Commission from 10 years to 30 years-This is proposed in order to improve the quality of persons applying for these posts.

Powers to National Commission / State Commission to direct any one to assist the case
Conferring powers to National Commission / State Commission to direct any individual or organization or expert to assist National Commission / State Commission in the cases of large interest of the consumers- This provision would enable the National Commission or the State Commission, in cases involving the larger interests of the consumers, an opportunity to suo moto enlist the services of an expert or an outside party, in an ongoing case, in the interest of justice.

Monitoring system of pending cases
Conferring powers to Central Government to call upon periodical reports of pending cases from National Commission and to State Government from State Commission or any District Forum- The provision is considered necessary to enable easy availability of data regarding filing and disposal of consumer complaints, which would help in monitoring the functioning of the consumer for a and effectiveness of the law.

The above said amendments proposed in the Act will go a long way in speedy redressal of Consumer grievances and sturdy protection of Consumer rights.
Read more: Amendments Proposed in Consumer Protection Act to Facilitate Faster Disposal and On line filing of consumer complaints http://taxguru.in/government-policy/amendments-proposed-consumer-protection-act-facilitate-faster-disposal-line-filing-consumer-complaints.html#ixzz1ind6lEgd

Friend, father & philosopher of black money is Chidambaram

http://www.sunday-guardian.com/analysis/friend-father-a-philosopher-of-black-money-is-chidambaram#.TwcIuh72rvh.facebook

'via Blog this' - An Article by Ram Jethmalani

Palaniappan Chidambaram, whom I shall for the sake of brevity call just Chidambaram, is best seen through black and white. And please don't get me wrong and accuse me of racism. I refer not to epidermis or mane, but to the economic colour of money. Some of his greatest contributions to the economy of India are his brilliant pioneering initiatives for changing the colour of money from black to white. And this passion has never left him. Many of us have forgotten the Voluntary Disclosure of Income Scheme (VDIS) 1997, which he announced when he was Finance Minister with the United Front government, granting income-tax defaulters indefinite immunity from prosecution under the Foreign Exchange Regulation Act, 1973, Income Tax Act, 1961, Wealth Tax Act, 1957, and Companies Act, 1956, in exchange of self-valuation and disclosure of income and assets. The scheme was brilliantly conceived. While all schemes in the past valued declared assets at current prices, VDIS 1997 brought in an arbitrary date of 1 April 1987. Gold and silver hoarders, and large property holders got an exceptional bonanza on this valuation system. Further, proof of purchase was not insisted upon, which gave complete freedom to the confessors to fudge any date they wanted to their own financial advantage and further plunder of the country. So, even if gold was bought after 1987, it could be shown as having been bought before 1987, and it was a win-win game for all stakeholders to rake in the cuts. The Comptroller and Auditor General of India condemned the scheme in his report as abusive and a fraud on the genuine taxpayers of the country. But the issue was forgotten, and the illustrious career of Palaniappan Chidambaram rose to greater heights in the UPA regime. Those were his innocent days. What a long way he has come since the era when he was cooking up VDISs, so utterly transparent, that the loopholes and avenues to give relief to the looters stared you in the face. The world economy was also then a little simpler than it is today, and his best achievement was getting caught about his investments in Fairgrowth, which was involved in the Securities Scam of 1992. Chidambaram had to resign for this utterly transparent investment in a company whose scam would have paid rich dividends. Unfortunately, he was not Finance Minister at the time and did not have the machinery to hush things up, and could only remotely control the markets, unlike his present capabilities as former Finance Minister and thereafter. Being Finance Minister in the UPA government was his finest hour. He could fiddle around with share markets, capital markets, banks, financial instruments, such as, securities, participatory notes, tax treaties, not to speak of spectrum sale, and use his extraordinary innovative powers of black money magic to plunder our country with complete impunity. He assiduously cultivated the media with his clipped English accent (that led him down, now and then), occasional freebies, and sustained shadows of the Enforcement Directorate that he commanded. Chidambaram cannot get black money out of his blood. Dr Subramanian Swamy has clearly stated in his website, "I now have further information from my usually reliable sources in the Union Government that the tapping of Finance Minister Mr. Pranab Mukherjee and his close associate in the Ministry, enabled Mr. Robert Vadra the son-in-law of Ms. Sonia Gandhi and Mr. Karthik son of Mr. P. Chidambaram, to use the data thereby collected to manipulate and rig the Mumbai stock market. Earlier these data were directly provided by the then Finance Minister Mr. Chidambaram. I demand that the SEBI be asked by PM to initiate 'Insider Trading' investigation and prosecution of Mr. Vadra and Mr. Karthik." If what is put out by Dr Subramanian Swamy is false why doesn't Chidambaram sue him? The dark clouds of the 2G scam and the repeated evidence being given by A. Raja and other accused of his tacit involvement and other acts of omission and commission are menacingly closing in on Chidambaram. He is losing his cool, and more importantly, losing his carefully clipped English accent to its more indigenous roots more often. And like his colleague Digvijay Singh, his mind seems to be disintegrating to a stage where he has started talking gibberish. Take this, for example: in reply to the BJP demand for his resignation for his involvement in the 2G scam, Chidambaram claims that the BJP is targeting him since he initiated a probe by the NIA into Hindu terror. Can any rational person see the connection between the two? Take also his comments regarding the recent Mumbai blasts. As Home Minister, instead of taking stock of the situation, and providing leadership, the only intelligent thing he could think of saying was, "No intelligence is not intelligence failure." Even a college debating society expects better logic. It's something like saying "illness is not a failure of health" or "impotence is not a failure of potency". Chidambaram's special financial skills have diversified into electoral politics also. He has the distinction of having been declared defeated in the last Lok Sabha election, after which he galvanized his special skills and local machinery, in particular, a data entry operator, and doctored a marginal victory on the recount. That is quite a record for fraud. And can one forget how the Indian Bank was cleaned up and left with only non-performing assets thanks to him and his Tamil Maanila buddies? Chidambaram's record as Home Minister has been disastrous. Neither has he made any impact on internal security, with the worst massacres of his own paramilitary forces taking place in his time, nor on terrorism, which carries on in complete complacency because there are neither effective preventive or punitive systems in place, nor political will and national legislation to combat terrorism. It is on record and in the public domain that the Home Ministry gave incorrect names of India's most wanted list of terrorists allegedly hiding in Pakistan, some of whom were tracked living in India or in custody. Is this a testament to his fabled efficiency and commitment? What a laughing stock we must be before the world. It is almost as if India is determined that it shall not combat terrorism, shall not have enabling legislation as enacted by the US, such as the Homeland Security Act 2002, and the Prevention of Terrorism Act 2005 of UK and similar legislations in European governments. India is determined not to have an effective national agency on the lines of the Homeland Security Department of the US. The ramshackle National Investigation Agency showed itself as a complete failure during the recent Mumbai attacks. Understandable, because its only mandate appears to be to investigate "Hindu terror", the last refuge for failed and hopeless Congressmen like Chidambaram. The CCTNS, JIC, ARC, NTRO (presently in another scam), and NCTC remain effete, scattered and unmonitorable, even by the Home Ministry. With such an unequivocal determination by the UPA government not to address terrorism effectively, I can only grieve for my country.