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In July 2022, the Press Information Bureau (PIB) issued a announcing the establishment of a committee to develop a comprehensive framework on the right to repair (committee). This committee, established by the Ministry of Consumer Affairs (MCA), was given a remit to create a framework as a part of the LiFE (Lifestyle for Environment) initiative. This would permit end-use consumers and buyers in India to access equipment and spare parts, allowing them to repair the products they had already purchased. This would then put services provided by original equipment manufacturers (OEM) and those of third-party sellers and retailers on an equal basis.

As part of this initiative, the Right to Repair India portal was set up by the Department of Consumer Affairs under the MCA, with the objective of ensuring greater sustainability of products by facilitating their repair and reuse. The framework reflected the need to protect consumers’ rights to receive cost-effective repairs in the cardinal sectors identified by the committee. The sectors that the committee identified, and currently served by the portal, are farming equipment; mobile phones and tablets; consumer durables, and automobiles and automobile equipment.

Under the proposed framework, it will be mandatory for OEMs to share with consumers the details of the products that they sell so that consumers have a higher level of control over the functionality and longevity of their products. Currently, each OEM may voluntarily sign-up to the portal and upload details regarding the quality of their products and the product components, and warranty and post-sale information.

While it is relevant to note that the right to repair is not recognised as a statutory right in India, the landmark ruling of the identified a similar principle.

In that decision, the CCI held that the practice of restricting and denying independent repairers of automobiles access to spare vehicle parts by way of end-user licensing agreements was anti-competitive. The reason the practice was adopted by the OEMs of automobiles and automobile components and spare parts was to ensure that only the OEMs or licensed vendors could repair automobiles.

While the CCI did not seek to establish an overarching recognition of the right to repair, it deemed any restriction under which a dominant enterprise sought to establish dominance in an adjacent market to be an abuse of dominance under sections 4(2)(b) and 4(2)(e) of the Competition Act, 2002. The decision affirmed that the restriction imposed by OEMs not only impacted independent repairers but also detrimentally hampered consumer welfare because the consumer’s right to receive cost-effective repairs was constrained.

Addressing some of the concerns highlighted in the CCI determination, the PIB issued a on 6 July 2024, noting the importance of repair manuals and videos being readily available. It set out the primary hurdle that consumers faced, namely the increased restriction of their right to repair because of significant delays in repair services and the non-availability of genuine spare parts at affordable prices.

The Department of Consumer Affairs has urged automobile companies to sign-up to the portal. This further step by the government has resulted in an increased ability of end-consumers to exercise their rights to repair, in particular relating to the vehicles they already own. Industry giants such as TVS, Tata Motors and Honda have signed up to the portal, allowing consumers to view details such as the price of and warranty applying to spare parts and the details of the service centres available throughout the country, together with product repair manuals and repair videos.

In an interesting initiative in the sector, Tata Motors and TVS have created repair videos that address the most common concerns faced by consumers. These videos are now accessible on their YouTube channels.

The growing awareness of key stakeholders in the sector is making it easier to achieve the goal of a circular economy in which consumers can easily access the information they need to repair their vehicles and keep them on the road, a sustainability objective.

Ashima Obhan is a senior partner and Natasha Matange is an associate at Obhan & Associates.