Protect your interest

MRP is a hoax. Always bargain on MRP, Stickers to declare MRP are illegal.

Keep money receipt and Warranty Card safely. If the warranty is dishonored, lodge complaints with the Consumer Forum of your state.

LPG is often stolen from cylinders. Check the seal carefully before the delivery boy removes it.

Buy electrical goods with as many star marks as possible. It will greatly reduce electricity charges.

Packages contain e-mail/ telephone no of Consumer Care Cell. It is mandatory. Always lodge complaint if you are dissatisfied with a product.

While buying Packaged Food Items, be sure to check date of Use Before/ Expiry Date, List of Ingredients and quantity of Protein, Carbohydrate and Fat.

Rights of a consumer

Section 6 of C.P. Act, 1986

  • Protection against marketing of goods and services hazardous to life and property.
  • Information about quality, quantity, potency, purity, standard and price of goods of services for protection against unfair trade practices.
  • Accesses to a variety of goods and services.
  • Hearing of grievances and due consideration thereof.
  • Redress against unfair or restrictive trade practices and unscrupulous exploitation of consumers.
  • Consumer education.

The Consumer Protection Act, 86

Who can lodge a complaint.

A consumer, his legal heir, a voluntary consumer association or the Government itself can register a complaint in writing that

Where to lodge a complaint and how.

A complaint can be lodged within two years from the date of purchase of any goods or service before the appropriate authorities.
A complaint should be submitted in three sets (four before the National Commission) plus additional sets as many as there are number of opponents.
A complaint should contain

It should also be accompanied by

Value of the goods/service
and Compensation claimed
Fee (Rs.)

District Forum
for BPL up to Rs. 1 00 000
NIL
for others up to Rs. 1 00 000
100
Above 1 up to 5 lakh
200
Above 5 up to 10 lakh
400
Above 10 up to 20 lakh
500

State Commission
Above 20 up to 50 lakh
2000
Above 50 up to 1 crore
4000

National Commission
Above 1 crore
6000

An appeal will lie with the next higher forum and finally up to the Supreme Court if preferred within 30 days from the date of order. Otherwise the order passed is final.
A District Forum is deemed to be a Civil Court but the appointment of a lawyer or filing affidavit is not mandatory.

What remedies may be available

Read More ....

Consumer Protection Act, 1986.

Some Buying Tips

Go directly to:

Buying LPG Cylinders | Buying Petrol/Diesel | Weighing by Digital Balance
Weighing by Mechanical Balance | Hall Mark from BIS | ISI Markings | Buying Packaged Items

BEE (Bureau of Energy Efficiency) Mark

While buying Electrical Appliances

  • Look for BEE marks and count the stars on the colored strip.
  • More the stars more the energy savings
  • A **** (4 star) 250 Litres Frost Free Refrigerators may save Rs. 192 per month in electricity bills.

BEE marks are normally used on Refrigerators, Air Conditioners and Tube Lights. The mark is a 5 Stars combination - active stars are on a colored strip and the inactive on the white part. More stars on the colored area mean less electricity consumption.

Approximate Energy Savings on a 250 Liters Frost Free Refrigerator

No of Stars Energy Consumption pm * Electricity Cost pm
0 90 units Rs. 360
2 65 units Rs. 260
4 42 units Rs. 168

       * @ Rs.4.00 per unit.

Tube lights consume electricity as per their wattage. But, more stars mean more light.

Liquid Petroleum Gas (LPG)

While receiving an LPG cylinder

  • Ask the Delivery Boy to weigh the cylinder and note the gross weight.
  • Deduct the weight of the empty cylinder (written on a neck) and check the actual weight of the LPG you receive.
  • Ask for replacement if the shortage is more than 157 g.
  • Always check the seal and the cap.

Gross Weight Cylinder weight
see inside a neck		 Net weight of LPG Shortage allowed (1%) of net weight
30.8 kg 15.1 kg 15.7 kg 157 g

All complaints regarding supply of LPG should be lodged with the Consumer Complaints Cell of the respective Oil company.
The telephone number and address of the Cell will be available in the Blue book.

  • All regulations, except the provision for acceptable weight, are non-enforceable through legal means.
  • Only the marketing guideline of Oil PSus comes to the protection of consumers' interests.
  • In case of short delivery, you may lodge complaints with the Legal Metrology Authority.
  • There is no booking period although the supply may be delayed due to non-availability.
  • It is not mandatory to buy oven or any other accessories from the dealer. (Any ISI marked item is sufficient).

Buying Petrol / Diesel

  • Look for the Verified 5 litre can at the pump and check 5 litre delivery.
    The shortage should not be more than 25 ml.
  • Ask for a filter paper from the dealer and put a few drops of fuel on it. After 2 minutes only a pinkish strain should remain. Otherwise, the fuel is adulterated.
  • Once a while, carry out a filter paper test / density test for checking adulteration at your regular petrol / diesel pump.

Marketing Guidelines of PSU Oil Companies

  • Dealers to make available filter papers to the customers to check adulteration of Petrol.
  • Dealers to keep density record and density checking kit.
  • Dealers to display posters indicating the method of detection of adulteration, procedure of seeking redresses, name and address of the office and officer with telephone numbers.

Filter Paper Test

  • The mouth of nozzle is cleaned to remove stains.
  • A drop of petrol is put on the filter paper from the nozzle.
  • The petrol dropped on the filter paper is allowed to evaporate for 2 minutes.
  • The petrol should evaporate without leaving any stain on the filter paper.
  • If the color left on the paper is pinkish, it is the color of fuel and not a stain.

Density Test

  • Product is taken in a glass jar and then a Hydrometer (separate Hydrometer for petrol and diesel available with the dealer) is immersed in the product.
  • Note the reading.
  • A Thermometer is immersed into the jar simultaneously without touching the walls of the jar.
  • The temperature is noted.
  • If the variation between the observed density and the reference density is within ± 0.0030, then the product density can be considered to be correct.

Weighing by Digital Balance

Need to be more careful

  • Do not trust digital balances more than beam scales. It is easier to manipulate them.
  • A machine set at 0.00 does not mean that it weighs correctly.
  • Shopkeepers using digital balances are required to keep verified weights equal to 1/10th of the maximum capacity of the balance.
  • Place a known weight to verify the correctness of the balance.

  • All digital balance must have a permanently fixed descriptive plate stating its class, maximum capacity and other details.
  • Higher the class, more is the accuracy. The Jewelry Shops must keep balances of at least class II accuracy.
  • It must bear the verification mark of the Inspector.

Hall Mark from BIS

Hall Mark ensures purity of Gold / Silver

  • Look for Hall Mark and other mandatory declarations on the back of the ornament.
  • In Gold, 22 carat purity will be shown as 916
  • Hall mark is not applicable to ornaments with stones or any other additives.
  • Hall Mark does not ensure weight declared.

Hall Marks consists of following inscriptions: Hallmark / Fineness / Marking Center Mark / Year of Marking / Jeweler¹s Mark.

Fineness Chart

Number 958 916 875 750 585 375
Carat 23 22 21 18 14 9


BIS Certification (ISI Marking) is mandatory for following items

  • Food Colors & Food Additives
  • Cement
  • Gas Cylinders
  • Electrical Appliances
  • Infant Milk Products
  • Pressure Stoves
  • Steel Tubes
  • Miners¹ Safety Equipment
  • Packaged Drinking Water and Natural Mineral Water
  • Thermometers

ISI mark for Cement

  • Don't go by advertisements. Check the IS No on the bag.
  • For general construction work, plastering etc. 33 grade Ordinary Portland Cement (OPC) with IS269:1989 is sufficient.
  • For construction of pillars or beams 43 grade OPC with IS8112:1989 is more suitable.
  • Construction in watery areas PPC or PSC is more suitable.
  • The selection of cement should be based on type of construction and price.

PPC: Portland Pozzolana Cement
Fly Ash Based: IS 1489 (Part 1): 1991
Calcined Clay Based: IS 1489 (Part 2): 1991

  • Suitable for general construction and most useful for construction under water.
PSC: Portland Slag Cement
  • Suitable for general construction and most useful for construction under water.
    IS 445: 1989.

Buying Packaged Commodities

Which are Packaged Commodities?

Commodities which are packed,

While buying packaged items from large shops, shopping mall etc. look for the mandatory digital balance which will give you a printed receipt showing the weight and price charged.

Every package shall bear statutory declarations as to:

1. The name and address of the manufacturer and Packer or the Importer and Packer.
2. The generic or common name of the commodity.
3. The net quantity in standard unit of weight or measure.
4. The month and year of manufacture or pre-pack or import.
5. The retail sale price : Rs --.(inclusive of all taxes).
6. Dimension of each item in the package (when applicable).
7. Name, address, telephone no and e-mail address (if available)
of the Consumer Complaints cell.

Additional Statutory Declarations for Food Items:

Whenever you buy any food item / cosmetics / any item which contain chemical ingredients, be sure to check the items and look for any chemical that may be allergic to your body.

Do not trust 'Herbal Products' blindly. Those may contain ingredients that may be harmful or allergic to you.

Other Important provisions

Not a Standard Pack?

This declaration on a package (Oh! they sometimes even forget to declare) will bring a little surprise to you.
You used to buy a 100 g packet of biscuit at Rs. 10.00.
The packet size is all most same and the M.R.P. is still Rs. 10.00 Only you get 89 g this time.
Yes, it is permitted now to conceal a price hike of 11% by just declaring that "This is not a standard pack". If you are not a prying type, you continue to feel good believing that the price of your favorite biscuit has not increased.

However, this dubious way of declaring net weight will be withdrawn from 1st July, 2012.


Buying something by Weight

The Balance


The Weight