Section 2 explained: this guide covers what it means, who it applies to, the step-by-step process, documents required, fees, due dates and penalties in India — so you can stay compliant with confidence and avoid costly mistakes.
This is the second of three articles on section 2. It covers the clauses that describe what can go wrong with goods and services, and who answers for it: appropriate laboratory (2), defect (10), deficiency (11), design (12), express warranty (20), goods (21), harm (22), injury (23), manufacturer (24), product (33), product liability (34), product liability action (35), product manufacturer (36), product seller (37), product service provider (38), service (42) and trader (45). If you are preparing a consumer complaint, these terms decide how you describe the fault. The earlier article is on consumer, complainant and complaint.
Defect relates to goods and deficiency to services. Both measure the fault against what law requires, what the contract says (express or implied) and, for goods, what the trader claims (2(10), 2(11)). Goods are every kind of movable property including "food" as defined in the Food Safety and Standards Act, 2006 (2(21)); a service excludes one rendered without charge or under a contract of personal service (2(42)). Product liability is the responsibility to compensate for harm caused by a defective product or deficient related service (2(34)).
Clause numbers covered in this article
| Clause | Term | Clause | Term |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2(2) | appropriate laboratory | 2(33) | product |
| 2(10) | defect | 2(34) | product liability |
| 2(11) | deficiency | 2(35) | product liability action |
| 2(12) | design | 2(36) | product manufacturer |
| 2(20) | express warranty | 2(37) | product seller |
| 2(21) | goods | 2(38) | product service provider |
| 2(22) | harm | 2(42) | service |
| 2(23) | injury | 2(45) | trader |
| 2(24) | manufacturer |
Defect, deficiency and the laboratory: 2(10), 2(11), 2(2)
Defect, 2(10). "Any fault, imperfection or shortcoming in the quality, quantity, potency, purity or standard" which is required to be maintained "by or under any law for the time being in force or under any contract, express or implied or as is claimed by the trader in any manner whatsoever in relation to any goods or product". Three yardsticks, then: the law, the contract, and the trader's own claim. "Defective" is read the same way.
Deficiency, 2(11). "Any fault, imperfection, shortcoming or inadequacy in the quality, nature and manner of performance" required by law or undertaken "in pursuance of a contract or otherwise in relation to any service". It includes (i) any act of negligence or omission or commission that causes loss or injury to the consumer, and (ii) deliberate withholding of relevant information from the consumer.
Appropriate laboratory, 2(2). A laboratory or organisation (i) recognised by the Central Government; (ii) recognised by a State Government, subject to Central guidelines; or (iii) established by or under any law and maintained, financed or aided by the Central or a State Government, for analysis or testing of goods to determine whether they suffer from any defect. This matters in complaints about goods, because section 38 uses the term when a defect needs testing. See our article on section 38.
Example. A tailor delivers a suit two months after the promised date, with the wrong measurements. These are shortcomings in the manner of performance undertaken under the contract, so this can be a deficiency.
Goods and service: 2(21), 2(42)
Goods, 2(21). "Every kind of movable property" and it "includes 'food' as defined in clause (j) of sub-section (1) of section 3 of the Food Safety and Standards Act, 2006". Immovable property is therefore not goods under this clause, though a builder's construction can still arise as a service.
Service, 2(42). "Service of any description which is made available to potential users" and includes, but is not limited to, facilities in connection with banking, financing, insurance, transport, processing, supply of electrical or other energy, telecom, boarding or lodging or both, housing construction, entertainment, amusement or the purveying of news or other information. The clause does not include the rendering of any service without charge, or under a contract of personal service. The text does not define "contract of personal service" or say how a service "without charge" is judged where something is paid indirectly.
For the existing site overview of these terms, see Key Definitions: Consumer, Complaint, Defect, Deficiency.
Harm and injury: 2(22), 2(23)
Harm, 2(22), in relation to product liability, includes: (i) damage to any property, other than the product itself; (ii) personal injury, illness or death; (iii) mental agony or emotional distress attendant to personal injury, illness or damage to property; or (iv) any loss of consortium or services or other loss resulting from a harm in (i), (ii) or (iii). It does not include harm caused to a product itself, damage to property on account of breach of warranty conditions, or any commercial or economic loss, including direct, incidental or consequential loss.
Injury, 2(23): "any harm whatever illegally caused to any person, in body, mind or property". Note that "harm" is defined in clause 22 only "in relation to a product liability", while "injury" is wider and appears in the definition of deficiency.
Who makes and sells: 2(24), 2(36), 2(37), 2(38), 2(45)
| Term | Who it covers |
|---|---|
| Manufacturer, 2(24) | A person who (i) makes goods or parts; (ii) assembles goods or parts made by others; or (iii) puts or causes to be put his own mark on goods made by another |
| Product manufacturer, 2(36) | Makes a product or parts; assembles parts made by others; puts his own mark on another's products; makes a product and sells, distributes, leases, installs, prepares, packages, labels, markets, repairs, maintains it or is otherwise involved in placing it for commercial purpose; designs, produces, fabricates, constructs or re-manufactures a product before sale; or is a product seller who also manufactures |
| Product seller, 2(37) | A person who, in the course of business, imports, sells, distributes, leases, installs, prepares, packages, labels, markets, repairs, maintains or is otherwise involved in placing a product for commercial purpose; includes a manufacturer who is also a seller and a service provider |
| Product service provider, 2(38) | A person who provides any service in respect of a product |
| Trader, 2(45) | A person who sells or distributes goods for sale, includes the manufacturer, and where goods are in package form, the packer |
Exclusions from "product seller", 2(37). The clause does not include: (a) a seller of immovable property, unless engaged in the sale of a constructed house or in the construction of homes or flats; (b) a provider of professional services where a product's sale or use is only incidental and furnishing of opinion, skill or services is the essence; (c) a person who acts only in a financial capacity in the sale of a product, is not a manufacturer, wholesaler, distributor, retailer, direct seller or electronic service provider, and leases a product without a reasonable opportunity to inspect and discover defects under a lease where selection, possession, maintenance and operation are controlled by someone else (the clause lists these as sub-items I, II and III).
Product, product liability and product liability action: 2(33)–2(35)
Product, 2(33): any article, goods, substance or raw material or any extended cycle of such product, in gaseous, liquid or solid state, possessing intrinsic value, capable of delivery wholly assembled or as a component part and "produced for introduction to trade or commerce". It does not include human tissues, blood, blood products and organs.
Product liability, 2(34): "the responsibility of a product manufacturer or product seller, of any product or service, to compensate for any harm caused to a consumer by such defective product manufactured or sold or by deficiency in services relating thereto".
Product liability action, 2(35): "a complaint filed by a person before a District Commission or State Commission or National Commission, as the case may be, for claiming compensation for the harm caused to him". Sections 82 to 87 deal with it; see the overview of product liability under sections 82-87.
Design, 2(12) and express warranty, 2(20) support these. "Design" means the intended or known physical and material characteristics of a product, including any intended or known formulation or content and the usual result of the intended manufacturing process. "Express warranty" means any material statement, affirmation of fact, promise or description relating to a product or service warranting that it conforms to it, and includes a sample or model warranting that the whole of the product conforms to it.
Example. A pressure cooker's lid fails and scalds a user. Compensation for the personal injury is "harm" (2(22)(ii)); a claim only for the cost of the cooker itself is outside "harm".
Need help with a defect or service complaint?
Matching your facts to the right term, whether defect, deficiency or product liability, shapes what you must prove. Our team can review the bill, warranty papers and correspondence, then prepare and file the complaint. Start with consumer complaint filing and bring photographs, test reports if any, and the seller's promises in writing.
Key takeaways
- Defect concerns goods; deficiency concerns services; both are tested against law, contract and (for goods) the trader's claim.
- A service rendered without charge or under a contract of personal service is excluded.
- Harm in product liability excludes harm to the product itself and commercial loss.
- Human tissues, blood, blood products and organs are not a "product".
Read next
- Section 2: consumer, complainant, complaint and consumer rights
- Section 2: unfair trade practice, e-commerce and other definitions
- Product Liability Under CPA 2019: Sections 82-87
- Consumer Complaint Against Builder under CPA
Disclaimer: Based on the Consumer Protection Act, 2019 as enacted, as consulted on 1 October 2026. Monetary limits, fees and procedure are set or revised by rules and regulations made under the Act and should be checked in their current form. This article is general information, not legal advice; check the official text before acting.