Srinagar, Feb 27: Even as the union government on Friday said the ‘E-Daakhil’ portal for consumer grievance redressal is now operational in 15 states and Union Territories (UTs), the portal is yet to be made operational in Jammu & Kashmir.
The Consumer Protection Act, 2019, which came into force from July 20, 2020, has a provision for e-filing of consumer complaints in the consumer commissions and online payment of the fees for filing a complaint, according to an official statement.
A web application for e-filing of consumer complaints named ‘edaakhil.nic.in’ has been developed by NIC for the purpose. However, despite extension of almost all central laws and e-governance systems to J&K, this facility is yet to be introduced here.
The government said the portal is now operational in 15 states and UTs. “The Department of Consumer Affairs is now proactively following up with the states to launch e-filing portal at their ends.”
E-filing was launched by the National Consumer Disputes Redressal Commission (NCDRC) on September 7, 2020.
Delhi was the first state to implement it on September 8, 2020.
Later, Maharashtra, Andaman & Nicobar Islands, Bihar, Chhattisgarh, Jharkhand, Gujarat, Chandigarh, Andhra Pradesh, Odisha, Uttar Pradesh, Madhya Pradesh, Punjab, Karnataka and Haryana implemented facility of e-filling in their respective states/UTs.
Total 444 locations are covered including NCDRC, state commissions and district commissions.
The E-Daakhil portal empowers the consumer and their advocates to file the consumer complaints along with payment of requisite fees online from anywhere for the redressal of their complaints.
It facilitates the consumer commissions to scrutinise the complaints online to accept, reject or forward the complaint to the concerned commission for further processing.
The digital software for filing consumer complaints has many features like e-notice, case document downloads link and virtual hearing link, filing written response by opposite party, fling rejoinder by complainant and alerts via SMS/e-mail.
With inputs from PTI