18% p.a. 7. In the written version, the OP, apart from contesting the claim on merits, raised a preliminary objection that the complaint is not maintainable since the complainant does not qualify the definition of a ‘consumer’. According to the OP, the service obtained by the complainant was for a commercial purpose, and by that fact, the complainant would stand excluded from availing any remedy under the Consumer Protection Act, 1986. To demonstrate that the service was obtained for a commercial purpose, the OP relied on two circumstances: (a) the statement in the complainant that there was an ‘understanding between complainant and opposite party to promote chit business’; (b) findings2 of an internal audit conducted by the OP. 2 As per the Internal Audit, the Complainant held 1023 prized chits, and 1043 non-prized chits. The report also mentions various correspondences between the complainant and OP with regards to the increasing disparity between the total liability of the fund,