- Why in news
- On 25 March 2026 the CCPA issued an advisory under Section 10 of the Consumer Protection Act, 2019. It bars hotels and restaurants from adding default 'LPG charges' or similar fees to bills.
- What it is
- The Central Consumer Protection Authority is a regulator set up under the Consumer Protection Act, 2019. It protects, promotes and enforces consumers' rights as a class, especially against unfair trade practices, false or misleading advertisements and violations of consumer rights. It can issue guidelines and advisories, order recalls, and impose penalties.
- Unfair trade practice
- Recovering business input costs through separate mandatory charges is treated as an unfair trade practice under Section 2(47) of the Act.
- Menu price rule
- The menu price must be the final price, excluding only applicable taxes.
- Earlier guidelines
- Default levy of such charges would violate the CCPA Guidelines dated 04.07.2022 on service charge.
- Complaint routes
- Consumers can call the National Consumer Helpline on 1915, use the NCH app, or file before a Consumer Commission through the e-Jagriti portal.
- Establishment
- The CCPA was set up in July 2020 under the 2019 Act and works under the Department of Consumer Affairs.
Don’t confuse with CCPA vs Consumer Commissions: The CCPA acts on consumers as a class and handles unfair trade practices. District, State and National Commissions adjudicate individual consumer disputes.
Laws, judgments and statutory bodies: 30 Prelims questions since 2013 (what the law says, who chairs, legal basis). In Mains, 44 news-triggered questions, most in GS2, asking for provisions and challenges.
Why it matters
- Curbs hidden charges and improves price transparency for consumers.
- Closes the loophole of renaming service charge to evade the 2022 guidelines.
Problems
- An advisory may have limited deterrence, and enforcement across many small establishments is hard.
- Consumers often do not know their rights or file complaints over small amounts.
Way forward
- Follow up with penalties for repeat violators and publicise action taken.
- Increase awareness of the NCH and e-Jagriti complaint routes.
Put in your answer
CCPA advisory, March 2026: Example of the regulator acting against disguised charges by renaming of service charge.
Consumer Protection Act, 2019: It replaced the 1986 Act and created the CCPA, product liability provisions and mediation.
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UPSC’s own questions that come close to this issue, from our Prelims and Mains banks.
No practice question for this one; the card may still help an answer. Why: CCPA advisory under section 10 of the Consumer Protection Act, 2019 calling default LPG charges unfair trade; worth a read, but a question is unlikely.
Source: PIB, Ministry of Consumer Affairs, Food & Public Distribution, 25 Mar, 16:01 IST · Release 286837
Worth revising until Prelims 2027: most news questions come within two years of the event.