Who is a consumer under the Consumer Protection Act, 2019?

Before a complaint can succeed, the Consumer Commission must be satisfied that the person complaining is a “consumer”. Sellers and service providers often argue that the buyer is not, especially where the purchase was by a business or for an investment. Here is how the law draws the line. Most of the Supreme Court decisions below were given under the Consumer Protection Act, 1986, whose definition is very similar, and they are applied to the 2019 Act.

The definition

Under Section 2(7) of the Consumer Protection Act, 2019, a consumer is a person who:

• buys goods, or
• hires or avails of a service,

for a price that is paid, promised, or partly paid and partly promised, including under an instalment or deferred payment plan. The Act expressly covers purchases made offline or online, by teleshopping, by direct selling and through multi-level marketing.

Users and beneficiaries are covered

The definition includes anyone who uses the goods, or benefits from the service, with the buyer’s approval. So a family member using a phone you bought, or a dependant covered by your insurance policy, can also be a consumer, even though they did not pay.

The commercial purpose exclusion

A person who buys goods for resale, or buys goods or services for a commercial purpose, is not a consumer. In Lilavati Kirtilal Mehta Medical Trust v. Unique Shanti Developers (2019), the Supreme Court explained how to apply this:

• It is decided on the facts of each case.
• The purchase must have a close and direct link with a profit-generating activity to be commercial.
• The identity of the buyer and the size of the transaction are not decisive. What matters is the dominant purpose.

On that basis, the Court held that a hospital trust which bought flats for its nurses to live in, rent-free, was a consumer.

In Vinit Bahri v. MGF Developers (February 2026), the Supreme Court added that the builder or seller who says a purchase was commercial must prove it, and that renting out a flat does not, by itself, show that it was bought for a commercial purpose.

Self-employment is not commercial

The Act says that “commercial purpose” does not include goods bought and used by a person exclusively to earn a livelihood by self-employment. Someone who buys an auto-rickshaw or a taxi to drive it themselves can therefore still be a consumer. A buyer who relies on this exception has to show that the use was exclusively for earning a livelihood. In Shrikant G. Mantri v. Punjab National Bank (2022), the Supreme Court held that a stockbroker who took an overdraft for his business was not a consumer, and that pure business-to-business disputes are not consumer disputes.

Note that the 2019 Act’s exception speaks only of goods, while the 1986 Act also mentioned services. For services used in a business, the dominant purpose test above decides the question.

Can a business be a consumer?

Sometimes, yes. In National Insurance Co. v. Harsolia Motors (2023), the Supreme Court held that a commercial enterprise which took a fire insurance policy for its business was a consumer, because insurance indemnifies a loss and does not generate profit. The Court stressed that this depends on the facts and is not a general rule.

Flats, plots and investments

A person who buys a flat or plot to live in is a consumer, and so is a family buying for its own members. Buying several units as a business, to trade in them for profit, can be treated as commercial, but the builder has to prove that, and letting a flat out does not by itself make the purchase commercial. Records showing personal or family use still help if the objection is raised.

Services that are not covered

• Free services. The definition of “service” excludes services rendered free of charge.
• Employment. A contract of personal service, such as an employer-employee relationship, is excluded.
• Advocates. In Bar of Indian Lawyers v. D.K. Gandhi (2024), the Supreme Court held that services of advocates are not covered by the Act.

Paid medical treatment, by contrast, is covered. See medical negligence complaints.

Who can file the complaint

Besides the consumer, a complaint can be filed by a registered voluntary consumer association, the Central or a State Government, the Central Consumer Protection Authority, one or more consumers on behalf of many with the same interest, a legal heir or legal representative after the consumer’s death, and a parent or guardian for a minor.

Common questions