E-daakhil portal: a total of 23,640 consumer complaints have been received through e-filing on the portal in two years since its inception on September 7, 2020
Consumer laws have been strengthened in the past few months along with the changing market dynamics. Apart from the strengthening of laws, the way complaints are filed has also undergone a significant change against the backdrop of increasing digitalisation. As part of this, the government introduced a new system consumer complaint platform E-Daakhil, which has now completed two years of its inception. Here’s all about E-Daakhil, and how consumers can register their complaints on E-Daakhil.
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What is E-Daakhil?
Developed under the Consumer Protection Act, 2019, the E-Daakhil portal has a provision for online filing of consumer complaints in the consumer commissions and online payment of fees for filing a complaint. Going through restrictions on consumers due to COVID-19, the e-daakhil portal was introduced on September 7, 2020, as an inexpensive, speedy and hassle-free mechanism for filing consumer complaints.
It offers a simple platform for consumers who are facing time constraints to contact the consumer commission for the resolution of their complaints.
Currently, this facility is functional in 33 states and UTs for respective National Consumer Disputes Redressal Commission (NCDRC), state commissions, 13 circuit benches and 651 district commissions.
“The portal has facilitated all aggrieved consumers to submit complaints to consumer commissions online in the comfort of their own homes, to pay the appropriate fees, and track the progress of the case online,” the Ministry of Consumer Affairs has said in a statement.
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How Many Cases Have Been Disposed of Though E-Daakhil So Far?
In the past two years since its inception on September 7, 2020, a total of 23,640 consumer complaints have been received through e-filing on the E-daakhil portal. Out of this, 5,590 complaints have been admitted till now. So far, a total of 889 cases have been disposed of on the e-daakhil platform.
What Complaints Can Be Filed On E-Daakhil?
As the portal is a platform to register complaints in consumer commissions, any consumer grievance-related complaint can be filed. Cases ranging from issues like defective saree, defective cast iron (tawa) to iron skillet single handle have already been disposed of through eDaakhil. Moreover, a dispute related to a fee refund filed by a Bengaluru person against an education institution has also been disposed of through the portal.
A consumer complaint this year was redressed through the same e-Daakhil facility in Chandigarh for a defective combo set of cast iron (tawa) and cast iron skillet single handle for Rs 1,529 from a website.
“The e-daakhil system has several successful cases that were resolved in the districts of Firozabad, Aligarh, Mainpuri, Vaishali, Port Blair, Dumka, West Tripura and Rangareddi and Andaman & Nicobar through this platform,” the ministry said in the statement.
How To Register On E-Daakhil
To file a case with E-Daakhil, any consumer or advocate can sign up on the e-Daakhil platform, https://edaakhil.nic.in/, with the required authentication by receiving an OTP on their registered cell phone or an activation link on their registered email address. They can then move on with filing a complaint.
At least 84,957 people are registered users on the e-daakhil portal. “There is a continuous growth of number of registered users on e-daakhil from September 2020- August 2022 with the raise from count of 5,963 to 84,657 users,” the consumer affairs ministry said.
As part of strengthening consumer rights, the government has been taking action against misleading advertisements also. The Central Consumer Protection Authority (CCPA) has sent letters to certain stakeholders to refrain from indulging in surrogate advertisements.
“Few notices have been sent to advertising agencies with information and broadcast industries for surrogate advertisement. Across different distribution channel, if matters not taken up and did further violations, the CCPA will take appropriate actions for the prevention of consumer rights,” the ministry said.
