Commercial purpose under consumer law bars borrower status where project loan supports profit-generating business activity.

A borrower of a project loan taken for brand-building and film post-production was held not to be a consumer under the Consumer Protection Act, 1986 because the services were availed for a commercial purpose. Applying the dominant purpose test, the Court treated the loan as a business-to-business arrangement with a direct nexus to profit generation. The self-employment exception did not apply, since the transaction was not limited to earning livelihood through personal labour but was intended to support commercial exploitation and revenue generation. The consumer complaint was therefore not maintainable, and the order of the consumer commission was set aside on the issue of maintainability.

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Issues: Whether a borrower of a project loan availed for brand-building and film post-production falls within the definition of consumer under the Consumer Protection Act, 1986.

Analysis: The expression "consumer" excludes a person who hires or avails services for any commercial purpose. The statutory explanation preserves only those cases where services are availed exclusively for earning livelihood by means of self-employment. Applying the dominant purpose test, the loan transaction was held to be a business-to-business arrangement with a direct nexus to profit generation. The asserted self-branding object did not alter the commercial character of the transaction, since the loan was intended to facilitate revenue and profit from the underlying commercial venture.

Conclusion: The borrower was not a consumer, and the consumer complaint was not maintainable.

Final Conclusion: The order of the consumer commission was set aside in the appeal challenging maintainability, while the connected appeal on compensation did not succeed.

Ratio Decidendi: Services availed for a transaction having a direct and dominant nexus with profit generation are for a commercial purpose, and the self-employment exception does not apply to a business-to-business loan taken for commercial exploitation.

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