THE CONSUMERS’ RIGHT PROTECTION ACT. 2009, PART 3

Chapter III

Directorate, Director General, etc.

  1. Establishment of Directorate, etc.—(1) For carrying out the purposes of this Act, there shall be a Directorate to be called the Directorate of National Consumers’ Right Protection.
  • The Government shall, by notification in the official Gazette, establish the Directorate of National Consumers’ Right Protection.
  • The Directorate shall give assistance to the Council in performing all its functions and shall be responsible for the execution of the decisions of the Council.
  1. Head office of the Directorate, etc.—(1) The Head Office of the Directorate shall be at Dhaka.

(2) The Government may, if it thinks necessary, establish a District Office of the Directorate in any district outside Dhaka.

  1. Director General.—(1) There shall be a Director General of the Directorate.
  • The Director General shall be appointed by the Government and the terms and conditions of his employment shall be determined by the Government.
  • The Director General shall be a whole time officer of the Directorate and, in accordance with the provisions of this Act, shall perform such functions and duties and exercise such powers as may be directed by the Council.
  • Any person may request the Director General through fax, e-mail or any other means for taking necessary steps to facilitate the functions of the Director General.
  • If a vacancy occurs in the office of the Director General or if the Director General is unable to discharge the functions of his office on account of absence, illness or any other cause, a person to be appointed by the Government shall temporarily discharge those functions of the Director General, until a newly appointed Director General takes over the charges of the office or until the Director General becomes able to resume the functions of his office.
  1. Powers and functions of Director General.—(1) The Director General may, for the purposes of this Act, take all necessary actions as he deems expedient and necessary for the protection of the rights of the consumers, prevention of anti-consumer right practice, and disposal of the complaint against violation of the rights of the consumers.

(2) The Director General may take all or any of the following actions keeping consistence with the provisions of sub-section (1), namely :—

  • to coordinate with the functions of any party or organization related to the purposes of this Act.
  • to take necessary steps for preventing any apprehended act likely to violate the rights of the consumers, determine preventive measures and take necessary actions thereupon.
  • to monitor whether the standard quality of goods or services by the seller is being maintained and take necessary actions;
  • to monitor whether any fraud is committed in respect of weight or quantity in selling or supplying goods and take necessary actions;
  • to monitor whether any fake goods or medicines are being made, manufactured and marketed and buyers are being deceived thereby and take necessary actions;
  • to monitor whether any goods or medicines are being adulterated and take necessary actions;
  • to monitor whether the date of manufacture and expiry of the goods or medicines, instruction and amount are inscribed on the label of such goods or medicines in the manner instructed under any Act or rules and take necessary actions;
  • to monitor whether any expired goods or medicines are being sold and take necessary actions;
  • to monitor whether any food item that is hazardous for human life or health is being made, manufactured or sold and take necessary actions;
  • to monitor to take necessary actions through inspection whether any goods are being manufactured or processed in such a process as is injurious to human life or health and take necessary actions;
  • to monitor whether any medicine is being made or manufactured anywhere without any valid license and take necessary actions;
  • to monitor whether consumers are being deceived by false advertisement for selling goods or service and take necessary actions;
  • to monitor whether the life of passengers are being put into risk by illegally running general public transport such as minibus, bus, launch, steamer and train by unskilled or unlicensed drivers and take necessary actions; and
  • to monitor whether life or security of service receivers are being jeopardized by violating any prohibition imposed under any Act or rules and take necessary actions.
  • The Director General shall by April 30 of each year, prepare a consolidated report for the previous 1 (one) year ending on December 31 on his own functions and the functions of the districts, if any, and shall submit it to the Council for its approval.
  1. Appointment of officers and employees.—The Government may appoint such number of officers and employees as may be necessary for the efficient performance of the Directorate, and the terms and conditions of their service shall be prescribed by rules.
  2. Power of investigation of the Director General or any other officer.—(1) The Director General shall have the same power for the investigation of an offence under this Act as an officer-in-charge of a police station.
  • The Government may, by notification in the official Gazette, empower any officer subordinate to the Director General with the same power of an officer-in-charge of a police station for the investigation of an offence under this Act.
  1. Power to issue warrant.—(1) If the Director General or any officer empowered by the Government in this behalf has reason to believe that—
  • any person has committed an offence under this Act; or
  • anything related to any offence under this Act, or any document, paper or any other thing necessary to prove such offence is kept in any place or in the possession of a person;

he may, after recording the reasons in writing, issue warrant to arrest such person or to search the place where such thing, document, paper or other things related to the offence is kept.

  • Any person to whom the warrant issued under sub-section (1) is sent for execution, shall have the same power of an officer mentioned in section 23.
  1. Power of seizure or arrest in open place, etc.—If any officer, while conduction any inquiry or investigation under this Act, has reason to believe that there are goods contrary to this Act in any open place or any vehicle, he may, recording reasons thereof in writing, seize such goods after search and arrest the accused related to such goods.
  2. Procedure of search, etc.—If there is nothing contrary to this Act, the relevant provisions of the Code of Criminal Procedure shall be applied in relation to all investigations, warrants, searches, arrests and seizures conducting under this Act.
  3. Order of temporary closure of any shop, commercial enterprise, etc. for any anti-consumer right practice.—(1) If it appears that any goods of anti-consumer right are being sold or manufactured or stored in any shop, commercial enterprise, factory, workshop or godown, the Director General or any officer of the Directorate empowered in this behalf may pass an order for temporary closure of such shop, commercial enterprise, factory, workshop or godown.
  • In case of failure of complying with the order passed under sub­section (1), such shop, commercial enterprise, factory, workshop or godown may, as immediate step, be kept closed under lock and key on behalf of the Directorate.
  • After the steps taken under sub-sections (1) and (2), the Directorate shall take the conclusive decision by conducting regular hearing, examination and investigation and on consideration of the rights of the consumers after ascertaining whether any anti-consumer right practice has been committed actually for the reason of violation of any provision of this Act or not.
  • If any person or organization providing service does any anti-consumer right practice in violation of any provision of this Act, the Director General or any officer of the Directorate empowered in this behalf, may pass an order for temporary closure of the concerned business of such person or organization.
  • In case of failure of complying with the order passed under sub- section
  • , the business of providing such service may be closed on behalf of the Directorate.
  • After temporary closure of any business of providing service under sub­sections (4) and (5), the Directorate shall take the conclusive decision by conducting regular hearing, examination and investigation and on consideration of the rights of the consumers after ascertaining whether any anti-consumer right practice has been committed actually for the reason of violation of any provision of this Act or not.
  1. Taking assistance from any law enforcing agency or any other authority.—The Director General or any officer empowered by him may request assistance of any law enforcing agency or any other public or statutory authority for exercising powers or performing of functions under this Act, and upon such request such agency or authority shall render such assistance.
  2. Prohibition on manufacturing, selling etc. of goods injurious to human health.—If any goods are proved to be particularly harmful to human health, the Government, on recommendation of the Director General, may, by notification in the official Gazette, issue direction for stopping the production, import, marketing, sale, display for sale, distribution, transportation for commercial purpose or commercial use of those goods completely all over the country or in any specific area, or for regulating or conducting those activities on such terms and conditions as may be specified in the notification.
  3. Power of entry etc.—(1) Subject to the provisions of this section the Director General or any person empowered, generally or specially, in this behalf shall have power to enter any building or place, at any reasonable time, with such assistance as he may deem necessary, for the following purposes, namely :—
  • to perform any duty conferred upon him under this Act or rules;
  • to inspect any activity conducted in such building or place in accordance with this Act or rules or any notice, order or direction issued thereunder;
  • to examine and verify any record, register or document in relation to any goods or service, or any other important information related thereto;
  • to conduct search in such building or place if he has reason to believe that any offence has been committed there in contravention of this Act or rules or any order or direction issued thereunder;
  • to seize any goods, ingredient, record, register, document etc. which may be used as evidence of committing any offence punishable under this Act or rules.

(2) Any person related to sale or production of any goods or service shall be bound to give all kinds of assistance to the person empowered in the discharge of his functions under this section.

  1. Power to collect sample etc.—(1) The Director General or any officer empowered by him in this behalf, may, for the purpose of examination, collect any goods or any ingredient used in such goods from any shop, godown, factory, premise or place.
  • Subject to the provisions of sub-section (3) or (4), as the case may be, the sample or the report of the laboratory of such sample or both mentioned in the above sub-section shall be admissible as evidence in the proceedings relevant to the sample collected under this section.
  • Subject to the provisions of sub-section (4), the officer collecting sample under sub-section (1) shall—
  • send notice to the possessor or agent of such place about his intention of collecting such sample in the manner prescribed by rules;
  • collect sample in presence of such possessor or agent;
  • put such sample in a container and seal the same putting thereon the signatures of his own and the possessor or his agent;
  • after preparation of a report on such sample, put his own signature and also take the signature of the possessor or agent thereon;
  • immediately send such container to the laboratory as designated by the Director General.
  • Where any sample is collected under sub-section (1) and the collecting officer sends a notice under clause (a) of sub-section (3), and if the possessor or the agent intentionally remains absent at the time of collection of such sample or being present refuses to sign on the sample or report, the collecting officer shall, in presence of two witnesses, confirm such sample by putting his own signature and affix it with seal and shall, by mentioning the absence or refusal, as the case may be, of the possessor or the agent, immediately send such sample to the laboratory as designated by the Director General for examination.
  1. Goods liable to be confiscated etc.—The goods, ingredients, equipments, machineries, elements, case, container, cover with label, which are related to an offence under this Act, shall be liable to confiscation.
  2. Procedure for confiscation.—(1) In a departmental investigation under this Act, if it is proved that any goods are liable to confiscation under section 32, the investigation officer may, whether the offence is proved against any person or not, pass an order for confiscation of such goods.
  • If anything liable to confiscation under section 32 is seized, but the accused related to such thing is not found, the Director General or any officer, empowered by him in this behalf, who shall be superior to the officer seized the thing, may confiscate it by order in writing.
  • Notwithstanding anything contained in sub-section (1) and (2), before any order of confiscation is passed, a notice shall be served in the prescribed manner for giving opportunity to raise any objection against any such confiscation and the person objecting shall be given reasonable opportunity of being heard within the time mentioned in the notice which shall not be less than 15 (fifteen) days from the date of service of such notice.
  • Any person aggrieved by any order passed under sub-section (2) may, within 30 (thirty) days of such order, prefer an appeal—
  • to the Director General against any order passed by an officer subordinate to the Director General; and
  • to the Government against any order passed by the Director General.
  • The judgment of the appellate authority mentioned in sub-section (4) shall be final, and no suit shall be filed against it in any court.
  1. Disposal of perishable goods.—Any goods seized under this Act which are perishable, such as- fish, vegetables, etc. may, without preserving it, be used, transferred, destroyed or disposed of in the prescribed manner.
  2. Disposal of things confiscated and seized.—As soon as a confiscation order of anything liable to confiscation under this Act is passed, the thing shall immediately be handed over to the Director General and Director General shall take steps for use, transfer or destruction or disposal of such thing in the prescribed manner.
  3. Seizure and disposal of adulterated goods directly.—If in any

inquiry, investigation or judicial proceeding, any goods prima facie appears to be adulterated and unfit for human consumption or injurious to human health and such allegation is admitted or not denied by the contesting party, such goods may, after seizure, directly be used, transferred, destroyed or disposed of in the prescribed manner.

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