Chinese consumers to get better protection

Mainland shoppers can look forward to greater buyer protection, including being granted "the right to regret", under an amendment to the 1994 consumer rights law currently under review.

Changes proposed in the draft will close loopholes, raise the cap on penalties for non-compliant firms and expand the reach of the law. The amendment, if approved, would help spur domestic consumption, a key policy objective of the central government over the next five years, industry participants said.

Xinhua reported this week that a draft amendment of the consumer rights law is being reviewed by the National People's Congress - the first revisions to the law since it came into force in January 1994.

The draft proposes to include e-commerce, television shopping channels and telephone shopping in the law. Online shoppers will be allowed "the right to regret" under the draft, which gives consumers the right to return goods within seven days of purchase and get a refund.

Meanwhile, it enhances the provisions of the existing guarantee policy, stressing vendors must replace or repair products that fail to meet quality standards or else give the buyers a refund.

The draft puts the burden of proof on the vendor in case of a legal dispute. Sellers of durable goods - such as vehicles, computers, television sets and refrigerators - are responsible for supplying evidence of a product's quality to the court if a consumer raises a complaint within six months of a purchase.