Why ministries and regulators are turning to the CCPA on consumer grievances

New Delhi: India's Central Consumer Protection Authority (CCPA) has recently been receiving requests from unexpected quarters to help resolve consumer grievances, leaving it grappling with jurisdictional questions over how to proceed.

The top consumer protection watchdog is increasingly finding itself at the centre of grievances spanning sectors it does not directly regulate, as government ministries, departments and sectoral regulators seek its help in resolving complaints that fall between regulatory jurisdictions, three government officials involved in the process said.

“The Department of Consumer Affairs is receiving complaints from varied sectors, viz-a-viz refund of airfares, problems in vehicles due to blended petrol, non-delivery of housing projects on time and pesky calls, among others. We are, therefore, directing these complaints to the concerned authorities for redressal,” said the first of the three persons cited earlier, all speaking on condition of anonymity.

As complaints across government departments continue to rise, the nodal ministries and departments, including those of finance, petroleum and natural gas, civil aviation and housing and urban affairs are increasingly approaching the CCPA for help in resolving consumer-related grievances, they said.

A case in point is the country’s capital markets regulator Securities and Exchange Board of India (Sebi) seeking the CCPA’s assistance in addressing consumer grievances involving a wallet-related issue. Given that such grievances often involve issues that cut across regulatory jurisdictions and require coordination with the concerned regulator or service provider, the CCPA has been reluctant to expedite such requests, citing concerns over its jurisdiction and the need to follow due process in matters that fall under the purview of sector-specific regulators.

Queries sent to the spokespersons of the Department of Consumer Affairs, Sebi, and the ministries of finance, petroleum and natural gas, civil aviation, and housing and urban affairs remained unanswered till press time.

Rising grievance load

Given that the CCPA is empowered to go beyond routine grievance redressal and take up cases through its statutory mechanisms, including hearings and proceedings under the consumer protection framework, ministries and regulators are increasingly approaching the authority to examine such complaints and take appropriate action.

“All such ministries have been asked to address these grievances at their level. If they fail to resolve them, the CCPA will take up some of the cases in close coordination with the concerned ministry or department,” said the second official.

“The Sebi has sought the help of the CCPA to address wallet-related complaints involving securities-market intermediaries. The complaints are understood to relate to issues such as the handling, withdrawal or refund of money kept in wallets or digital balances linked to trading and investment platforms,” said the third official.

“While Sebi regulates stock brokers and other securities-market intermediaries, including the handling and segregation of client funds, the consumer-protection aspects of such complaints may require intervention by the CCPA,” this person said.

Empowered by broad mandate

Experts said that the CCPA's broad mandate allows it to examine consumer grievances even in sectors governed by specialised regulators, while coordinating with the concerned sectoral authority.

“The principle is that a specialised regulatory architecture generally takes precedence over the general regulatory framework. The Consumer Protection Act, under which the CCPA operates, is a general consumer-protection law, while different sectors have their own specialised laws, regulators and regulatory frameworks. Therefore, the specialised law and regulations would ordinarily apply first. If those mechanisms are inadequate to address a consumer grievance, the general consumer-protection framework can potentially be invoked,” said Amol Kulkarni, director of research at Consumer Unity & Trust Society (CUTS) International, a non-governmental organisation.

“This could explain why the CCPA may be taking a step back in some cases. However, it may still be useful for the authority to examine such matters because the scope of the CCPA is quite broad. If it finds that consumers have suffered injury or that specific consumer-protection safeguards have not been followed, the CCPA can take cognizance of the matter. It can also refer the matter to the concerned sectoral regulator and, depending on the circumstances, provide appropriate relief to the aggrieved consumers,” Kulkarni said.

Pendency of public grievances with states and Union territories on the Centre’s Centralized Public Grievance Redress and Monitoring System (CPGRAMS) portal have been rising. Pendency stood at 216,032 at the end of June, about 26% higher than in December 2025.

According to the latest monthly report for June released by the Department of Administrative Reforms and Public Grievances, states and Union territories received 96,190 public grievances, the highest monthly inflow so far this year, and disposed of 93,170, also the highest monthly disposal in 2026. However, inflow continued to outpace disposal, pushing overall pendency higher.

About the Author

Dhirendra Kumar is a seasoned policy reporter with about 20 years of experience in deep, on-ground reporting across key economic and governance sectors. His work spans finance, public expenditure, disinvestment, public sector enterprises, textiles, trade, consumer affairs, and agriculture, with a strong focus on uncovering structural policy shifts and their real-world impact.<br><br>Kumar has been awarded the Chaudhary Charan Singh Award for Excellence in Journalism in Agricultural Research and Development, recognising his contribution to reporting on critical issues in the farm sector. He has also been a recipient of a fellowship in international trade from the National Press Foundation, which has further strengthened his coverage of global trade dynamics and their implications for India.<br><br>Kumar is known for breaking complex policy developments into clear, accessible stories. His reporting focuses on uncovering under-reported trends, explaining policy shifts, and helping readers stay informed about developments that shape India’s economic landscape.