Consumers can claim warranty benefits without invoice

Consumers may no longer have to preserve the invoices of the goods purchased by them to claim refunds in case of damage within the warranty period.

The e-warranty principle mooted by the government will enable the buyer to claim benefits for damages to a product within the warranty period anywhere across the country irrespective of the place of purchase.

“The onus of maintaining records will be on the manufacturer. A consumer can claim benefits under the warranty clause even if he does not have an invoice of the purchase,” Consumer Affairs Minister Ram Vilas Paswan said here. The consumer need not keep the documents related to warrantees and guarantees in physical format, he said addressing a function to mark the World Consumer Rights Day.

Senior officials in the Consumer Affairs Ministry said the proposed Consumer Protection Authority will be empowered to regulate the de-materialisation of warrantees and the industry will be encouraged to align with the best global practices.

“The industry will have to maintain an e-database to track and maintain record of every product manufactured by them,” G Gurcharan, special secretary in the ministry said.

He said the e-database will enable a consumer to claim benefits anywhere in the
country.