E-Retailing and the Consumer Protection Bill, 2015: Drawing from the European Union Consumer Directives

Abstract

E-retailing has exponentially grown in the past decade. Alongside, consumer grievances have also started surfacing. The Consumer Protection Bill, 2015 addresses this by giving the right to the consumer to cancel a consumer contract within 30 days. This is called ‘cooling-off’. The provision applies to a sale contract as well as a contract of service. The provision, in its current form, is skeletal, only declaring the right. The right needs to be detailed for it to be functional and effective. The European countries have had laws for more than a decade on ‘cooling-off’, putting into force the European Union directives on consumer rights. Exploring the European Union directives, the paper explores the basis and principles for ‘cooling-off’ and develops a draft chapter on ‘Distance Contract’ for inclusion in the bill. The directives also require the seller to give certain kinds of information and take the responsibility for the safe delivery of the goods to the consumer. The draft chapter develops provisions on these additional themes.