Under the ‘Consumer Welfare’ section of The Auto Policy 2016-21, a few features specifically relate to the purchase experience of the customer.
The policy stipulates that automakers do not accept more than 50 per cent prior payment for booking the vehicle.
Furthermore, if the delivery exceeds two months from the communicated delivery date, interest payments amounting to Kibor +2pc are to be made to the customers on the amount paid for the bookings.
This was done mainly to encourage early delivery of vehicles and also to ensure customers get some form of compensation to offset the opportunity cost of booking as opposed to immediate delivery. As per the policy, the law was to be formalised through an SRO that would enforce it as a binding on the auto industry to follow this norm.
Interestingly, to date no SRO has come from the government that mandates this consumer welfare practice.