The Ministry of Consumer Affairs, Food and Public Distribution has notified the Consumer Protection (Search and Seizure and Compounding of offences by the Central Authority and Crediting of Penalty) Rules, 2021 vide notification dated December 6, 2021.
Key provisions notified under the Rules are as follows:
- Procedure of taking copies or extracts of documents, records, or articles seized or produced: The Rules provide the procedure of taking copies or extracts of documents, records, or articles seized or produced and disposal of articles subject to speedy or natural decay. In cases where the Director General or any other officer authorised by him in this behalf, or the District Collector, has seized, or require production of, any document, record, or article, the Director-General or any other officer authorized by him in this behalf or the District Collector, as the case may be, shall return the same to the person from whom such document, record, or article was seized, or required for production, within a period of twenty days from the date of such seizure or production.
First time offence shall be punishable either before or after the institution of any prosecution and shall be compounded by an officer so authorised by the Chief Commissioner.
- Disposal of articles subject to speedy or natural decay: In cases where any article is seized by the authorised person and the person is of the opinion that such article is subject to speedy or natural decay, he may cause such article to be sold by public auction. Where any article is sold, the sale proceeds thereof, after deduction of the expenses of such sale and other incidental expenses thereto, shall, immediately after the sale of the property, be credited to the Consolidated Fund of India.
- Compounding of Offences:
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- Any person may either before or after the institution of prosecution, make an application in the form as specified by the Central Authority with the approval of the Central Government from time to time to the compounding officer, to compound the offences specified under section 96 of the Act.
- On receipt of an application, the compounding officer shall call for any other information from the applicant and such information shall be furnished by the applicant within a period of thirty days or within such extended period as may be allowed by the compounding officer, from the date of receipt of communication from the compounding officer.
- The compounding officer, after giving personal hearing to the applicant and after taking into account the contents of the said application, may, by order, giving reasons of arriving at the decision, either allow the application indicating the compounding amount or reject such application. AN opportunity of personal hearing is mandatory before arriving at a decision and no compounding shall be allowed by the compounding officer where there are apparent contradictions, inconsistencies or incompleteness in the case of the applicant.