MP consumer commission holds dealer, not Nissan, liable for Rs 4.5 lakh car refund

The Madhya Pradesh State Consumer Disputes Redressal Commission in Bhopal held on 28 October 2026 that a car dealer in Satna, not the carmaker Nissan Motors India Pvt Ltd, must pay a buyer whose car was never delivered. The commission allowed Nissan's appeal and modified a 2018 order of the Satna district consumer commission. The buyer still gets the Rs 4.5 lakh booking advance back, with interest, compensation and costs, from the dealer alone.

What Happened

According to the order, the buyer paid an advance of Rs 4.5 lakh on 27 March 2017 to Nissan's authorised dealer to book a Nissan car. The car was to be delivered on 4 April 2017 but was not, and the buyer went to the district commission.

The companies did not appear, and the Satna district commission decided the case in their absence. On 26 April 2018 it ordered the dealer to refund Rs 4.5 lakh within a month, with simple interest at 6% a year from 14 June 2017, the date the complaint was filed. It also ordered the dealer and Nissan together to pay Rs 5,000 as compensation and Rs 2,000 as litigation costs.

Nissan appealed, arguing that the money was paid only to the dealer and never reached it. The state commission agreed. It found from the receipt and the buyer's bank passbook that the amount went by NEFT to the dealer's account, and that no evidence showed the dealer passed it to Nissan or that Nissan had any role in the car not being delivered. It held there was no basis for making the carmaker pay, and made the dealer alone liable for the compensation and costs. The rest of the district order stands.

What It Means

For car buyers, the ruling shows that a consumer commission looks at who actually received the money. Where a booking amount is paid to a dealer and the dealer fails to deliver, the claim may lie against the dealer, unless there is evidence linking the manufacturer to the failure.

The order is the state commission's finding and may be appealed. Consumers with a similar dispute can contact the National Consumer Helpline on 1915 or file a complaint online through e-Daakhil.

Source: Consumer commission order