Selling goods/Services through  Television channels –Applicability of  law

Various TV channels are giving platform to the traders,manufacturers,retailers or wholesellers to sell their product through their channel by advertising,displaying contact numbers ,receiving calls and then accepting orders there and then . For all this process seller is taking assistance from some mobile phone network  either through agreement or MOU for sponsoring OR conducting their programme successfully. By recommending the product to the public at large through advertisement,accepting and booking order  and then selling  by using all the above means and methods constitutes selling online/digitally which is now governed under Consumer Protection Act 2019

Consumer Protection Act 2019 after repeal of earlier act 1986 now includes online purchaser as a consumer .

Relevant provisions of the act in this context -

Section 2.

 

(1) "advertisement" means any audio or visual publicity, representation,

endorsement or pronouncement made by means of light, sound, smoke, gas, print,electronic media, internet or website and includes any notice, circular, label, wrapper,invoice or such other documents;

(7) "consumer" means any person who—

(i) buys any goods for a consideration which has been paid or promised or partly paid and partly promised, or under any system of deferred payment and includes any user of such goods other than the person who buys such goods for consideration paid or promised or partly paid or partly promised, or under any system of deferred payment, when such use is made with the approval of such person, but does not include a person who obtains such goods for resale or for any commercial purpose; or

(ii) hires or avails of any service for a consideration which has been paid or promised or partly paid and partly promised, or under any system of deferred payment and includes any beneficiary of such service other than the person who hires or avails of the services for consideration paid or promised, or partly paid and partly promised, or under any system of deferred payment, when such services are availed of with the approval of the first mentioned person, but does not include a person who avails of such service for any commercial purpose.

Explanation.—For the purposes of this clause,—

(a) the expression "commercial purpose" does not include use by a

person of goods bought and used by him exclusively for the purpose of

earning his livelihood, by means of self-employment;

(b) the expressions "buys any goods" and "hires or avails any

services" includes offline or online transactions through electronic means or by teleshopping or direct selling or multi-level marketing;

(13) "direct selling" means marketing, distribution and sale of goods or provision of services through a network of sellers, other than through a permanent retail location

(16) "e-commerce" means buying or selling of goods or services including

digital products over digital or electronic network;

(17) "electronic service provider" means a person who provides technologies

or processes to enable a product seller to engage in advertising or selling goods or

services to a consumer and includes any online market place or online auction sites;

(19) "establishment" includes an advertising agency, commission agent,

manufacturing, trading or any other commercial agency which carries on any business,trade or profession or any work in connection with or incidental or ancillary to any commercial activity, trade or profession, or such other class or classes of persons including public utility entities in the manner as may be prescribed;

 

In wake of the above provisions  read with Consumer Protection E-Commerce Rules 2020 ,selling goods through television  fall under the provisions of Consumer Protection Act and E-Commerce Rules are applicable to such activities whether they are in the character of E-Commerce companies,,seller of products of other companies on market place or providing platform and facilitating to the  manufacturer companies to sell their product through them.

Looking into the activities of selling through television as said above ,details of their set up and implememtation of e-commerce Rules 2020 can be determined only when such sellers are identified and are requested to furnish relevant details to the ministry  

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