(1) The Central Authority may, after receiving any information or complaint or directions from the Central Government or of its own motion, conduct or cause to be conducted a preliminary inquiry as to whether there exists a prima facie case of violation of consumer rights or any unfair trade practice or any false or misleading advertisement, by any person, which is prejudicial to the public interest or to the interests of consumers and if it is satisfied that there exists a prima facie case, it shall cause investigation to be made by the Director- General or by the District Collector.
(2) Where, after preliminary inquiry, the Central Authority is of the opinion that the matter is to be dealt with by a Regulator established under any other law for the time being in force, it may refer such matter to the concerned Regulator along with its report.
(3) For the purposes of investigation under sub-section (1), the Central Authority, the Director General or the District Collector may call upon a person referred to in sub-section (1) and also direct him to produce any document or record in his possession.
Legal Commentary & Landmark Judgments: Section 19
Section 19 establishes a statutory mechanism for regulatory harmonization and inter-agency coordination, empowering the Central Authority to refer matters to other specialized sectoral regulators (such as TRAI, SEBI, IRDAI, RBI, or FSSAI) when an inquiry reveals that the subject matter falls squarely within the statutory competence of that specialized regulatory body.
If representing a regulated entity (such as a commercial bank, non-banking financial company, insurer, or telecom service provider) facing a CCPA notice, file a preliminary application under Section 19. Relying on CCI v. Bharti Airtel, argue that the subject matter involves specialized technical regulations governed by the sectoral regulator (RBI, IRDAI, or TRAI) and request the CCPA to refer the matter under Section 19 rather than initiating parallel regulatory proceedings.