Consumer complaint:
how long do you have?
Last reviewed: 2026-08-19 · quoted from the India Code bare-Act PDF
Not a Limitation Act Schedule article. This deadline is fixed by the Consumer Protection Act, 2019. The Schedule to the Limitation Act, 1963 does not govern it — the period, its starting point, and whether any delay can be condoned all come from the statute's own text, quoted below.
'the date on which the cause of action has arisen' — e.g. the deficiency in service, the defect surfacing, or the repudiation of a claim, as the case may be.
The statutory text
Consumer Protection Act, 2019, s.69 — NOT a Limitation Act Schedule articleProvision: s.69(1): 'The District Commission, the State Commission or the National Commission shall not admit a complaint unless it is filed within two years from the date on which the cause of action has arisen.' s.69(2): 'Notwithstanding anything contained in sub-section (1), a complaint may be entertained after the period specified in sub-section (1), if the complainant satisfies the District Commission, the State Commission or the National Commission, as the case may be, that he had sufficient cause for not filing the complaint within such period: Provided that no such complaint shall be entertained unless the District Commission or the State Commission or the National Commission, as the case may be, records its reasons for condoning such delay.'
Period: Two years; delay condonable on sufficient cause, with the Commission required to record its reasons for condoning.
Time from which period begins to run: 'the date on which the cause of action has arisen' — e.g. the deficiency in service, the defect surfacing, or the repudiation of a claim, as the case may be.
Open the bare Act on India Code →
In plain English
Consumer complaints before the District, State or National Commission must be filed within two years of the cause of action, but unlike civil suits the delay CAN be condoned if sufficient cause is shown and reasons are recorded. Identifying when the cause of action arose (defect discovered, service denied, claim repudiated, possession refused) is usually the real battleground.
Where this comes up
- Homebuyer complaint over delayed possession — cause of action often treated as continuing until possession is offered
- Insurance claim repudiation — two years from the repudiation letter
- Defective vehicle or appliance; deficiency in banking or medical services
What can reset or extend this period
General rules for deadlines that live outside the Limitation Act Schedule. The specifics for this deadline are in the quoted statutory text above.
The Limitation Act applies only as far as this statute allows
Under the s.29(2) scheme, a special law's own limitation regime governs, and it can exclude s.5 condonation expressly or by its scheme — the Arbitration Act's 'but not thereafter' and the IBC's fifteen-day cap operate as hard ceilings, while the Consumer Protection Act builds its own condonation into s.69(2). Read the quoted statutory text above; the Schedule's rules do not simply carry over.
Frequently asked
Is the two-year period as rigid as a civil suit's limitation?
No — s.69(2) expressly allows a late complaint on sufficient cause, with reasons recorded. But condonation is discretionary and casually explained delays are routinely rejected.
When does the cause of action arise in a builder-delay case?
Courts have treated failure to deliver possession as a continuing cause of action while the builder retains the money without delivering — but this is case-law application of s.69, not statutory text, so plead the timeline carefully.
This is a reference to the statutory text, not advice on a live matter. Limitation is brutally fact-sensitive — when the cause of action accrued, whether an acknowledgment or part-payment reset the clock, and which exclusions under ss.4-15 apply all turn on your specific facts. This page is a reference to the statutory text, not advice on a live matter, and it does not create an advocate-client relationship. A single day's error can be fatal to a claim: s.5 condonation never applies to suits, and several special-statute deadlines (Arbitration s.34(3), IBC s.61(2)) are hard ceilings no court can extend. Verify every period against the bare Act as currently amended and against current case law, and take advice on your own facts before acting. Provisions here were reviewed on 19 August 2026.