What is Consumer?
According to Consumer Protection Act 1986 (India), a ‘consumer’ has been defined as the person who consumes goods (or avails services) for personal use only for a consideration and not for any commercial purpose. However any person who is consuming goods (or availing services) for earning his own living by way of self employment is an exceptional case.
Consumption is an important criterion for defining the term consumer. It should always be after paying (or promising) some consideration. Otherwise such consumption shall be excluded from the definition of consumer. In simple words, consumption of any goods/services without consideration will be treated as gifts and the person shall not be termed as consumer. Consideration should always be in form of some monetary benefit which may be received instantly or promised on a later date. Further the provisions of consumer protection act shall not be attracted where no consideration of any kind is involved.
In the picture above, Akhil and Vicky are consumers but not Rahul because Vicky bought 5 computers to run an internet cafe for earning his living by way of self employment. On the other hand, Rahul is a shopkeeper who bought 20 computers with the sole commercial purpose of selling them.
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yIgnore team thanks for this informative post written by Ms. Ankita Varma (Chartered Accountant).
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