Unfair Trade Practices: What They Are and How to Complain (2026)
What counts as an unfair trade practice under the Consumer Protection Act, 2019, how the Central Consumer Protection Authority tackles misleading ads, and how a consumer complains. Last verified October 2026.
How-to · Consumer Law
An unfair trade practice is a selling method that tricks or misleads the buyer to push a sale. The Consumer Protection Act, 2019 both defines it and gives two routes to act against it: a complaint to a consumer commission, and action by a national regulator. This guide explains what counts as an unfair trade practice, the role of the Central Consumer Protection Authority, and how a consumer complains. Last verified October 2026.
- Definition: a deceptive or unfair selling method, under Section 2(47) of the Consumer Protection Act, 2019.
- Examples: false quality claims, fake bargain prices, no bill, and refusing refunds for defective goods.
- Regulator: the Central Consumer Protection Authority (CCPA) can stop misleading ads and penalise traders and endorsers.
- Routes: a consumer complaint for your own loss, and a CCPA complaint for harm to consumers generally.
01What an unfair trade practice means
An unfair trade practice is a method or practice used to promote the sale, use or supply of goods or services that is deceptive or unfair. It is defined in Section 2(47) of the Consumer Protection Act, 2019.
The idea is simple. A trader is free to sell, but not by lying about the product, faking a discount, or hiding what the buyer is really getting. Where the selling method itself is dishonest or unfair, it is an unfair trade practice, whether or not the buyer suffered a measurable loss.
02Common examples
The Act lists several categories. Common examples include:
- falsely claiming a standard, quality, grade or model for goods;
- falsely stating that services are of a particular standard or quality;
- advertising a false or misleading bargain price;
- offering gifts or prizes with the intention of not providing them, or running a contest to promote a sale in a misleading way;
- not issuing a bill or receipt for the goods or services sold; and
- refusing to take back or withdraw defective goods, or to refund the amount, within the stated or a reasonable time.
A linked idea is deficiency in service, which is about poor performance of a service rather than a dishonest selling method.
03Misleading advertisements and endorsers
A misleading advertisement is one that gives a false description of a product or service, gives a false guarantee, or hides important information. The 2019 Act tightened the rules here, and can reach not just the trader but also the person who endorses the product.
A celebrity or influencer who endorses a product can be made answerable for a misleading claim about it, not just the company that made the claim.
This is why due diligence before endorsing, and clear disclosure of paid promotion, now matter in practice.
04The Central Consumer Protection Authority
The 2019 Act created the Central Consumer Protection Authority (CCPA) under Section 10. It is a regulator that protects consumers as a class, separate from an individual complaint.
The CCPA can inquire into unfair trade practices and misleading advertisements on its own or on a complaint, order the practice or advertisement to stop, order corrective advertisements, and impose penalties on the trader and, in some cases, the endorser under Section 21. So there are two tracks: your own complaint for your loss, and CCPA action for the wider harm.
05How a consumer complains
An affected consumer has two main routes:
- A consumer complaint before the District, State or National Commission, chosen by the value involved, to recover your own loss and stop the practice. This follows the standard filing procedure.
- A complaint to the CCPA about a misleading advertisement or an unfair practice that affects consumers generally. This can be filed through the National Consumer Helpline or the consumer affairs channels.
The two-year limit under Section 69 applies to a consumer complaint before a commission.
06What you can recover
From a consumer commission, you can seek the end of the unfair practice, a refund, replacement or repair, compensation for your loss, and costs. In a fit case the commission can award punitive damages.
From the CCPA, the relief is more regulatory: orders to stop or correct the advertisement, recall, and penalties. The CCPA route does not usually pay compensation to you personally, so for your own loss the commission route is the one to use.
07Where Claw fits
Claw is an all-in-one legaltech platform for Indian advocates, law firms, and corporate legal teams, combining AI-based case search, an AI legal assistant (Legal GPT), case management, and compliance automation across all Indian courts and tribunals.
Whether you take an unfair trade practice to a consumer commission or report a misleading advertisement to the CCPA, you want to see how comparable practices were treated and to follow your own matter through to the order. Claw sits at that dispute and tracking layer. Its search covers more than 30 crore judgments, from the Supreme Court since 1950 and the High Courts since 1990, so you can find how unfair trade practice and misleading advertisement cases were decided, with the result in under five seconds. It then keeps your live matter under watch, by party or advocate name, across 9,102 courts, benches and forums. For wider research, see case search across Indian courts.
Your filings remain your own: Claw does not use customer case documents to train its AI models. Open a free Claw account to follow your consumer matter by party or advocate name.
08Sources and further reading
- India Code (Consumer Protection Act, 2019): indiacode.nic.in
- Department of Consumer Affairs (CCPA, National Consumer Helpline): consumeraffairs.nic.in
- e-Jagriti (national consumer case portal): e-jagriti.gov.in
- Claw: clawlaw.in
This guide is general information, not legal advice. The categories and penalties can change, so confirm the current position before you act.
09Frequently asked questions
What is an unfair trade practice?
It is a deceptive or unfair method used to promote a sale, defined in Section 2(47) of the Consumer Protection Act, 2019. Examples include false claims about quality, misleading bargain prices, not issuing a bill, and refusing to refund defective goods within a reasonable time.
What is the difference between an unfair trade practice and a deficiency in service?
An unfair trade practice is about a dishonest selling method, such as a false claim. A deficiency in service is about poor or incomplete performance of a service you paid for. The same episode can involve both, and you can raise both in one complaint.
Can an influencer be liable for a misleading ad?
Yes. Under the 2019 Act, the person who endorses a product can be made answerable for a misleading claim about it, not just the company. This is why disclosure of paid promotion and due diligence before endorsing now matter.
What is the CCPA?
The Central Consumer Protection Authority, set up under Section 10 of the 2019 Act. It protects consumers as a class. It can inquire into unfair practices and misleading ads, order them to stop, require corrective ads, and impose penalties on traders and endorsers.
How do I complain about an unfair trade practice?
You can file a consumer complaint before the District, State or National Commission to recover your own loss, and separately complain to the CCPA about an advertisement or practice that affects consumers generally. The two-year limit under Section 69 applies to the commission route.
Can Claw help track such a case?
Yes. Claw lets you search more than 30 crore judgments on how similar unfair trade practice cases were decided and follow a live matter by party or advocate name across 9,102 courts, benches and forums, with each result back in under five seconds. It tracks and researches the matter but does not give legal advice.