eDaakhil: file a consumer commission case online

If you live abroad: see the NRI India Problem Solver hub for bank, property, PAN, passport and parent-emergency guides built for NRIs.

If you are short on time, jump to step-by-step filing and have your invoice, ID proof and a list of dates ready before you log in.

eDaakhil is the official online filing portal of the National Consumer Disputes Redressal Commission (NCDRC), opened in September 2020 and now covering every District Commission, State Commission and the NCDRC itself across India. It is the digital equivalent of walking into a consumer court with a paper complaint - the same forum, the same statute, the same binding order. The portal runs at https://edaakhil.nic.in/ and is operated by NCDRC, New Delhi, under the Consumer Protection Act 2019.

The point that most citizens miss is that a consumer commission is a real adjudicative forum, not a mediation desk. The orders are passed by judges, are binding, and are executable as a civil-court decree under §71 CPA 2019. The portal is just a thin layer on top of that.

Four channels exist. Pick the right one for the right job.

1. NCH 1915 / INGRAM portal, the free pre-litigation mediation step. Best first move if your loss is small, the seller is a convergence partner, and you are open to a settlement. Resolves in 7 to 15 days when it works.
2. eDaakhil / consumer commission, the adjudicative forum. Use when NCH fails, when the seller is not a convergence partner, when you want a binding order, or when the loss is large enough that mediation alone is inadequate.
3. RBI Integrated Ombudsman (RBI-OS 2021), the payment-disputes forum. Use for unauthorised debits, card fraud, UPI failure, lien disputes, payment-aggregator misconduct. Banking ombudsman first, then eDaakhil if RBI-OS is dismissed or unresolved.
4. Central Consumer Protection Authority (CCPA), the regulator-level escalation for systemic violations - dark-pattern advertising, misleading claims, unsafe products. See the CCPA dark-patterns survival guide.

NCH is not a pre-condition for eDaakhil. §35 of CPA 2019 says a consumer “may file a complaint” with the District Commission. There is no statutory bar requiring NCH first. Courts have repeatedly confirmed that mediation under §74 CPA 2019 is a stage after admission, not before. You can go straight to eDaakhil if you want.

The 2019 Act overhauled the pecuniary thresholds. They were revised again by a 2021 notification. Get this right or your complaint is bounced on day one.

The claim value is the value of goods or services paid for, plus the compensation claimed. It is not the value of the lost item alone. If you paid Rs 8 lakh for a car repair and are claiming Rs 4 lakh compensation for inconvenience, the claim value is Rs 12 lakh - District Commission.

Two further points:

1. Territorial jurisdiction (§34(2)): file where the opposite party resides, where it has a branch office, or where the cause of action arose. Many citizens file at their own city's commission because the cause of action - the refusal of refund or service - arose there.
2. Class action (§35(1)©): a group of consumers with the same interest can file jointly. The pecuniary value is the total of all claims combined, not per consumer. Twenty buyers each claiming Rs 3 lakh = Rs 60 lakh = State Commission.

Filing fees are prescribed under the Consumer Protection (Consumer Commission Procedure) Regulations 2020, Rule 7. eDaakhil collects them through the NCDRC payment gateway by net banking, UPI or card.

Note the free-up-to-Rs-5-lakh slab at district level. This is the bracket most citizen disputes fall into - phones, appliances, repair refunds, courier claims, ticket disputes, gym fees, edtech refunds. Most consumer commission cases in India are filed for zero fee.

eDaakhil is a five-stage workflow. The whole filing takes 25 to 40 minutes if your documents are ready. Have these open before you start: a scanned invoice / receipt / booking confirmation, a government ID (PAN, Aadhaar or voter ID), screenshots of the complaint trail with the opposite party, your bank-transaction proof, and the company's registered address (look it up at zaubacorp.com or the MCA portal if needed).

Go to https://edaakhil.nic.in/. Click “Consumer Registration”. Enter your name, mobile, email and a password. The portal sends an OTP to mobile and email - both must be verified before login is enabled. The portal supports one account per mobile number. If you already have an account from an earlier complaint, log in and skip to the next stage.

After login, click “File a New Complaint”. The portal first asks the forum - District, State or NCDRC. Pick by the pecuniary math above. If you pick wrong, the commission's registry can return the file for re-presentation, or transfer it under §68 CPA 2019, but you lose weeks.

Next, the portal asks for complainant details, opposite party details, and case category (goods or services - drill down to the sector). Be exact with the opposite party's registered name and registered office. “Amazon” is wrong. “Amazon Seller Services Pvt Ltd, World Trade Center, Brigade Gateway, Rajajinagar, Bengaluru 560055” is right. Missing or wrong party particulars are the second most common admission rejection.

The portal accepts the complaint as a PDF upload, not an in-portal text field. You draft it offline in Word, convert to PDF, and upload. The complaint must follow the structure laid down in Regulation 14 of the 2020 Procedure Regulations:

1. Title and forum (“In the District Consumer Disputes Redressal Commission, [City]”).
2. Parties - complainant with full address; opposite party (or parties) with registered office.
3. Facts - dated, numbered paragraphs.
4. Cause of action - the date and place when the deficiency or unfair trade practice arose.
5. Limitation - a paragraph stating the complaint is within the two-year limitation under §69 CPA 2019.
6. Jurisdiction - territorial and pecuniary basis.
7. Relief sought - specific (refund of Rs X, compensation of Rs Y, costs Rs Z).
8. Verification - signed and dated.
9. List of documents - numbered annexures.

The portal accepts up to 10 PDF / JPG files, 5 MB each. Standard bundle:

1. Invoice or receipt proving the consumer-trader relationship.
2. ID proof of the complainant.
3. Correspondence trail - emails, WhatsApp, customer-care tickets, NCH docket if filed.
4. Bank proof of payment to the opposite party.
5. Photos / screenshots of the defective product or denied service.
6. The affidavit (see next section - mandatory).
7. Authority letter if filing through an advocate.

The portal redirects to the NCDRC payment gateway. UPI, net banking and card are accepted. Fee receipt is auto-generated. On submission you receive a registration number (e.g. CC/2026/123) by SMS and email. The case status page is then live for tracking.

After submission the registry scrutinises the file. Defects flagged at scrutiny - missing affidavit signature, wrong forum, unsigned complaint, missing party - are notified by SMS/email with a 15-day window for re-presentation.

Every consumer complaint must be supported by an affidavit verifying the facts, signed by the complainant before a notary public or first-class magistrate, and uploaded as part of the eDaakhil bundle. Regulation 14(2) of the 2020 Procedure Regulations makes this mandatory.

Defective affidavits account for a large share of admission rejections. The usual mistakes are:

1. Not on stamp paper / e-stamp. Most states require Rs 10 or Rs 20 non-judicial stamp paper.
2. Not notarised. A self-signed verification is not an affidavit.
3. Deponent name mismatch. The name on the affidavit must match the ID proof exactly. “Rakesh Kumar Verma” on Aadhaar but “R K Verma” on the affidavit is a defect.
4. Outdated paragraph numbering. The affidavit must reference the paragraph numbers of the complaint it is verifying.
5. Wrong jurat. The “verified at [place] on [date]” line is missing or the notary stamp does not bear date and serial.

A clean affidavit template is in the sample-complaint section below.

§69 CPA 2019 sets the limitation period at two years from the date on which the cause of action arose. This is hard-coded - the commission shall not admit a complaint filed after two years unless the complainant proves “sufficient cause” for delay.

The “cause of action” is not the date of purchase. It is the date the deficiency or unfair trade practice crystallised. Examples:

1. Bought a TV in March 2024 that failed in November 2025 - cause of action is November 2025, the date the deficiency emerged. Limitation runs to November 2027.
2. Booked a flight in January 2025 that was cancelled in March 2025 - cause of action is March 2025.
3. Builder agreement signed in 2020, possession promised by December 2022, builder still in delay - this is a continuing cause of action. Each month of delay refreshes the clock (settled by the Supreme Court in builder-delay cases).

If you are filing late, you must attach a separate application for condonation of delay under §69(2), citing the “sufficient cause” - illness, custody of documents, fraud discovery, etc. Without that application a time-barred complaint is dismissed at scrutiny.

The commission's hearing flow follows §38 (district), §49 (state) and §59 (national). The stages are identical across forums.

1. Day 0 - filing. Registry scrutinises and accepts.
2. Day 7 to 21 - admission hearing. The commission decides whether the complaint discloses a cause of action. The complainant or counsel appears in person or by video.
3. Day 21 to 30 - notice to opposite party. The commission issues notice with a copy of the complaint and a 30-day window for written reply.
4. Day 30 to 60 - written reply / version filed by the opposite party. Often this is when the company first contacts you with a settlement offer.
5. Day 60 to 90 - evidence by affidavit. Both sides file their evidence as sworn affidavits with documents. No oral examination at this stage.
6. Day 90 to 120 - cross-examination. Only if the commission orders it (rare in goods cases, common in medical-negligence and service cases).
7. Day 120 to 150 - arguments. Counsel for both sides addresses the commission. Citizens appearing in person speak directly.
8. Day 150 to 180 - judgment. Reserved order typically released within 30 days of arguments closing.

The Act prescribes that a complaint shall ordinarily be decided within three months if no expert evidence is needed, or five months if it is (§38(7)). Actual timelines stretch to 9 to 18 months in busy commissions. Metro district commissions are slower than state-capital ones.

Since COVID, NCDRC and most state and district commissions hold virtual hearings on Cisco WebEx or Jitsi, with a hybrid option for parties who prefer physical appearance. The link is in the eDaakhil case-status page two days before the hearing.

What this means for a citizen filing without a lawyer:

1. You can attend from anywhere with a stable internet connection.
2. The commission usually allows you to speak in Hindi, English or the regional language.
3. You must switch on the camera, identify yourself with name and case number, and wait for your matter to be called.
4. Documents already filed need not be re-read - the commission has the file open.
5. For arguments, prepare a one-page bullet list of the key facts, the statutory grounds and the relief asked. Speak to that. Most matters are decided on documents, not oratory.

If the link does not load, the commission's registry telephone number (listed on the case page) reverts to a phone-bridge dial-in within minutes. The commission does not dismiss a complaint for an attendance failure caused by a technical issue.

The 30-day appeal clock is the single most-missed deadline in consumer practice. Diary it the day the judgment is uploaded.

1. District to State Commission (§41 CPA 2019). Appeal within 30 days of the order. Filed at eDaakhil under the State Commission tab. Court fee is 50% of the amount in dispute, capped at Rs 4,000 (deposit, not lost - returned on a successful appeal).
2. State to National Commission (§51 CPA 2019). Appeal within 30 days. Filed at eDaakhil under the NCDRC tab. The deposit cap rises to Rs 35,000 for high-value appeals.
3. National Commission to Supreme Court (§67 CPA 2019). Appeal within 30 days to the Supreme Court of India. This is no longer an eDaakhil filing - it is a regular civil appeal filed at the Supreme Court Registry. Compulsory representation by a Supreme Court Advocate-on-Record.

Three points often missed:

1. The clock runs from the date the order is uploaded to eDaakhil, not the hearing date.
2. Condonation of delay is possible under §41/§51 proviso but the appellate forum is strict - “I was unwell” without medical proof is usually refused.
3. The opposite party can appeal too. Companies often appeal a district order to the state commission to stall execution.

A consumer commission order is not self-executing. If the opposite party does not pay or perform within the time stated in the order (usually 30 or 45 days), the complainant must file an execution application under §71 CPA 2019.

What §71 does:

1. The commission can issue arrest warrants against the principal officer of the opposite party.
2. The commission can order attachment and sale of property of the opposite party to recover the awarded amount.
3. The order is executable as a civil-court decree in any district where the opposite party has assets.
4. Non-compliance is punishable with imprisonment up to three years or fine up to Rs 1 lakh (or both) under §72 CPA 2019.

The execution application is filed at eDaakhil under the same case number. It is not a new case - it is a follow-on stage. No fresh fee. The commission usually issues notice and lists the matter within 30 days.

1. Wrong commission by pecuniary value. Splitting a Rs 60 lakh dispute into two Rs 30 lakh complaints to stay in district court is sanctioned. The Supreme Court has called it forum-shopping and barred it.
2. Vague relief. “Order the company to do justice” is not a relief. “Direct the opposite party to refund Rs 47,500 with 9 per cent interest and pay Rs 25,000 compensation” is.
3. Missing parties. If the dispute is with an e-commerce platform and a seller, both must be parties. Naming only the platform is a non-joinder defect.
4. Time-bar without condonation. Filing on day 731 with no condonation application = dismissed.
5. Defective affidavit. Covered above. Use the sample below.
6. Filing the same dispute at both NCH and eDaakhil simultaneously. The commission does not dismiss for this, but it weakens credibility. Close the NCH docket first, attach it as evidence, then file eDaakhil.
7. No proof of consumer-trader relationship. Without the invoice, the complaint is not maintainable - §2(7) CPA 2019 requires “consideration paid or promised.”

This is a skeleton for a District Commission complaint on an appliance refund refusal. Adapt the facts; keep the structure.

BEFORE THE DISTRICT CONSUMER DISPUTES REDRESSAL COMMISSION,
[CITY], [STATE]

Consumer Complaint No. ____/2026

[Name of Complainant], aged about __ years,
S/o / D/o [Father's Name], resident of
[Full address], PIN [______]
...Complainant

Versus

1. [Company Name Pvt Ltd],
   registered office at [Address], PIN [______]
   through its Managing Director / Authorised Signatory
2. [Seller / Service Provider],
   business address at [Address]
   ...Opposite Parties

COMPLAINT UNDER §35 OF THE CONSUMER PROTECTION ACT, 2019

The complainant respectfully states:

1. The complainant is a "consumer" within the meaning of §2(7)
   of the Consumer Protection Act, 2019, having paid Rs _____ to
   Opposite Party No. 1 on [date] for [goods/services] as proved
   by Annexure A (invoice no. ___ dated __).

2. [Facts paragraph 1 - what was bought, when, for how much]

3. [Facts paragraph 2 - when and how the defect / deficiency arose]

4. [Facts paragraph 3 - the complaint trail; NCH docket if filed]

5. CAUSE OF ACTION: The cause of action arose on [date] when
   Opposite Party No. 1 refused to honour the warranty / refund /
   service obligation, and continues to subsist.

6. LIMITATION: This complaint is filed within the limitation
   period of two years prescribed under §69 of the Act.

7. JURISDICTION: This Hon'ble Commission has territorial
   jurisdiction under §34(2)(d) as the cause of action arose
   at [city], and pecuniary jurisdiction under §34(1) as the
   total value of goods and compensation claimed does not
   exceed Rs 50,00,000.

PRAYER:

The complainant prays that this Hon'ble Commission may be
pleased to:

(a) Direct Opposite Party No. 1 to refund Rs ______ with
    interest at 9 per cent per annum from [date] till
    realisation;
(b) Award compensation of Rs ______ for mental agony,
    inconvenience and harassment;
(c) Award costs of these proceedings, quantified at Rs ______;
(d) Pass any other order this Hon'ble Commission deems fit
    in the facts of the case.

Place: [City]
Date:  [dd/mm/2026]

                                   [Signature]
                                   [Name of Complainant]
                                   Complainant in person

VERIFICATION

I, [Name], the above-named complainant, do hereby verify
that the contents of paragraphs 1 to 7 of the complaint above
are true to my personal knowledge, and the contents of the
prayer are my submission in law. Verified at [city] on this
___ day of [month] 2026.

                                   [Signature]
                                   Complainant

The affidavit follows on a separate stamp paper, before a notary, with the same numbered paragraphs verified on oath.

§35(1)© CPA 2019 allows one or more consumers having the same interest to file jointly, with the commission's permission. eDaakhil supports class filings under the same workflow - one lead complainant is named, others are added as “co-complainants” with their addresses and amounts. The commission may also direct public notice under §38(11) inviting other affected consumers to join.

Use class actions for builder delays, batch-defective appliance lots, mass insurance mis-selling, dark-pattern subscription traps. The pecuniary value is calculated on the total of all claims, which often pushes the matter from district to state or national commission - useful when the lead victim wants a stronger forum.

For mass deceptive practices that affect thousands rather than dozens, CCPA action under §21 is parallel and powerful. Read the dark-patterns CCPA survival guide for the regulator-route option.

1. Indian Medical Association v. V.P. Shantha (1995) 6 SCC 651 - Supreme Court held that medical services rendered for consideration are “services” under the Consumer Protection Act, opening medical negligence as a consumer-commission cause of action. Government hospital services rendered free were excluded, paid services in any facility were included.
2. Spring Meadows Hospital v. Harjol Ahluwalia (1998) 4 SCC 39 - the Supreme Court held that a parent paying medical bills for a child is a “consumer”, the child is a “beneficiary,” and both can claim compensation for medical negligence. Settled the rule that compensation for mental agony to a non-paying beneficiary is permissible.

Both rulings are still good law under the 2019 Act because the definition of “service” in §2(42) is materially the same as the 1986 definition.

1. Identify the forum - calculate claim value + compensation = pecuniary slab → district / state / national.
2. Diary the limitation date - cause-of-action date + 24 months. If it is close, file the same week.
3. Scan and PDF the invoice, ID proof, payment proof, correspondence trail.
4. Draft the complaint using the template above; do not exceed 8 numbered paragraphs of facts.
5. Get the affidavit notarised on stamp paper - allow 1 day if you have a local notary.
6. Register and file at https://edaakhil.nic.in/ - 25 minutes once the bundle is ready.
7. Save the case-registration number to your phone notes and email.

If you want a faster first-step at zero cost, NCH 1915 still helps - call 1915 or file at https://consumerhelpline.gov.in/. For drafting the legal-toned complaint or a related RTI to the same authority (e.g., to a government supplier), the RTI Wiki AI Drafter generates a section-compliant draft you can adapt.

No. §35 CPA 2019 lets a consumer file directly at a District Commission. The Act prescribes mediation as a stage after admission under §74, not as a pre-filing condition. NCH is recommended for small disputes because it is free and fast, but it is optional. If you have already exhausted customer-care channels and the seller is hostile, go directly to eDaakhil.

No. Claims up to Rs 5 lakh in a District Commission are filed free of cost under Rule 7 of the Consumer Protection (Consumer Commission Procedure) Regulations 2020. You only pay for stamp paper for the affidavit (Rs 10 to Rs 20) and notary fees (Rs 50 to Rs 100). The eDaakhil portal itself charges nothing.

Yes. §38(8) CPA 2019 expressly says a complainant may appear in person. A large share of district-commission complaints are filed and argued by citizens themselves. Engage a lawyer only if the dispute is technically complex, the opposite party has retained senior counsel, or the matter has reached the state or national commission on appeal.

The commission proceeds ex-parte under Regulation 12 of the 2020 Regulations. The complainant files evidence by affidavit, the commission hears arguments, and passes an order without the opposite party's reply. Ex-parte orders are fully enforceable under §71. The opposite party can apply later to set aside the ex-parte order but must show “sufficient cause” for the absence.

Yes. §39(1) CPA 2019 lets a commission award compensation for “loss or injury suffered” by the consumer, which courts have repeatedly held includes mental agony, inconvenience and harassment. Typical awards are Rs 5,000 to Rs 50,000 in routine matters, higher in medical-negligence and builder-delay cases. Quantify the figure in the prayer - “compensation of Rs 25,000 for mental agony.”

A writ petition is a constitutional remedy against state action under Article 226. A consumer commission complaint at eDaakhil is a statutory remedy against a trader for deficient goods or services. The two operate on different tracks. A consumer cannot invoke writ jurisdiction over a private trader. eDaakhil is the right forum for refund, replacement, repair, compensation and unfair-trade-practice grievances.

Rarely. §34(2) CPA 2019 lets you file where the cause of action arose or where the opposite party has a branch office. If the e-commerce platform sold to you in Pune, Pune has jurisdiction. The opposite party can apply under §68 for transfer “in the interest of justice,” but the bar is high - commissions usually refuse if the complainant is a citizen with no resources to travel.

If the foreign company does business in India through a website that transacts in INR with Indian customers, the commission can take jurisdiction. The opposite party is described as “the foreign company, through its Indian representative office / authorised agent / nodal grievance officer” with the Indian address. Service of notice can be by email under Regulation 10(2) if the website lists an email.

The Supreme Court in Bar of Indian Lawyers v. D.K. Gandhi (2024) held that services by advocates are not “services” under the Consumer Protection Act 2019 in the contractual lawyer-client sense, on the ground that advocacy is a profession. Disputes over legal fees and professional misconduct now go to the Bar Council rather than the consumer commission.

The statute says 90 days from notice of appeal for the appellate commission to decide (§41(2)). Realistic timeline is 12 to 24 months at state commissions and 2 to 4 years at NCDRC. If you are the winning party, push for execution under §71 simultaneously with the opposite party's appeal - the appeal does not automatically stay execution unless the appellate commission orders it.

Yes, and you can choose. Banking disputes can go to RBI Integrated Ombudsman (RBI-OS 2021) or eDaakhil - many citizens use RBI-OS first because it is free and fast. Airline disputes can go to DGCA / AirSewa or eDaakhil - see the airline baggage complaint walkthrough. Repair-service disputes typically have no regulator and go straight to eDaakhil - see the AC repair refund and compensation guide and the service-app consumer trap walkthrough.

1. NCH 1915 helpline complete walkthrough - the free pre-litigation route, often a smarter first move
2. Dark patterns under CCPA 2023 - regulator action for systemic violations
3. Food-delivery refund playbook (Swiggy, Zomato, ONDC)
4. AC repair refund and compensation guide
5. Airline baggage damaged or delayed complaint
6. Service-app consumer complaint trap
7. RBI Integrated Ombudsman (RBI-OS 2021) walkthrough - for payment disputes
8. The citizen RTI playbook - the pillar guide
9. RTI vs CPGRAMS, ombudsman and consumer commission - which forum when
10. AI RTI Drafter - generate a section-compliant draft

1. Consumer Protection Act 2019 (Act 35 of 2019), §34, §35, §38, §41, §47, §49, §51, §58, §59, §67, §69, §71, §72, §74 - https://www.indiacode.nic.in/handle/123456789/15256
2. Consumer Protection (Consumer Commission Procedure) Regulations 2020, Rule 7 (fee), Regulation 10 (service of notice), Regulation 12 (ex-parte), Regulation 14 (complaint format and affidavit) - https://consumeraffairs.nic.in/
3. eDaakhil portal - https://edaakhil.nic.in/
4. National Consumer Disputes Redressal Commission (NCDRC) - https://ncdrc.nic.in/
5. Department of Consumer Affairs - https://consumeraffairs.nic.in/
6. Indian Medical Association v. V.P. Shantha (1995) 6 SCC 651 - services definition for medical negligence
7. Spring Meadows Hospital v. Harjol Ahluwalia (1998) 4 SCC 39 - beneficiary as consumer
8. Bar of Indian Lawyers v. D.K. Gandhi (2024) - advocates excluded from “services”

Last reviewed: May 2026 by the RTI Wiki editorial team. Statutes and regulations verified against indiacode.nic.in and consumeraffairs.nic.in. Pecuniary thresholds reflect the 2021 notification. The eDaakhil portal interface description matches the version live in May 2026.