EXCLUSIVE: BEE to recall Hitachi products with poor star ratings; other home appliance firms also under probe

The Central Consumer Protection Authority (CCPA) on Wednesday took suo motu cognizance of Johnson Controls-Hitachi Air Conditioning India Limited for selling substandard air conditioners, sources told Zee Business.

The Consumer Affairs Department sought information from the company by writing a letter to it and asking for the details of its products. The department has asked the company for clarification regarding the issue raised by The Bureau of Energy Efficiency (BEE).

If the consumer department is not satisfied with Johnson Controls-Hitachi Air Conditioning India Limited's response, it can take action against the company. The company can face a number of penalties, including a product recall.

The company in its press statement said, "Johnson Controls-Hitachi Air Conditioning India Limited is committed to manufacturing best quality products in alignment with all applicable global and local standards. We appreciate the efforts of BEE and are actively participating in acceleration of sustainable adoption of energy efficiency through our technology and innovation. We will continue to maintain the trust of our consumers by investing towards delivering nothing but the best.”

The company further said, "As a part of product life cycle assessment process, Johnson Controls-Hitachi Air Conditioning India Limited identified models that were on the borderline of meeting energy efficiency criteria.

"In view of this identification and anticipation, we took necessary corrective actions, stopping production of Window RAC RAW511HEDO w.e.f. April 2021 and of Fixed Speed Split RAC RSNG318HEDO w.e.f. May 2022, which were reported by the BEE."

The Consumer Affairs Department is also writing letters to the Energy Ministry and the Electronics Equipment Association to make them aware of the non-compliance issue.

Zee Business was the first to raise issues related to customer rights and concerns after the BEE advertisement. In the same matter, BEE has also taken action at its level, in which Johnson Controls-Hitachi Air Conditioning India Limited was asked to recall the product from its distribution network across the country.

The BEE had directed the air conditioning company to identify customers, take ACs back from them, and compensate them. Along with this, BEE is also investigating the company's entire range of home appliances and other companies.

Due to the hot weather, BEE is showing much concern regarding the quality and star ratings of ACs. It has taken a tough stance against companies selling home appliances with the wrong star ratings. Other than the said company, BEE is also running quality checks on other company products.

BEE is checking the quality of products in its labs through random sampling.

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