Product Liability Law in Bangladesh (2025): A TRW Law Firm Field Guide

Prepared by TRW — Tahmidur Rahman Remura. Use this as a practical, Bangladesh-specific playbook for manufacturers, importers, distributors, retailers, and online platforms that design, source, and sell products in Bangladesh.

Executive snapshot

Bangladesh has no single, unified “Product Liability Act.” Instead, liability arises from a stack of laws:

• Contract & sales law (implied conditions/warranties, remedies) under the Sale of Goods Act, 1930.
• Statutory consumer protection with administrative enforcement via the Consumers’ Rights Protection Act, 2009 (CRPA) and the Directorate of National Consumer Rights Protection (DNCRP).
• General tort (negligence) principles under common law for injury or property damage caused by defective products.
• Sector statutes (notably the Food Safety Act, 2013) and standards (BSTI) that impose safety/labeling obligations and empower seizures, bans, or recalls.

In practice, a single incident can trigger parallel exposure: an administrative case at DNCRP, civil claims for damages (contract/tort), and—in serious cases—criminal consequences under food/drugs or penal provisions.

What “product liability” covers in Bangladesh

Think in terms of defect theory:

1. Manufacturing defect — the item deviates from its intended design/specification (e.g., contamination, faulty batch).
2. Design defect — the intended design is unreasonably dangerous given feasible safer alternatives.
3. Failure to warn/instructions — inadequate warnings, user guides, or after-sale communications (updates, recalls).

Bangladesh does not recognize a sweeping, codified “strict liability” regime like some jurisdictions. Plaintiffs usually proceed via contract (breach of implied conditions/warranties), statute-backed consumer remedies, and/or negligence (duty, breach, causation, damage).

Who can be sued (and when)

• Manufacturers & assemblers — for defects in design or manufacture, misleading representations, or failure to warn.
• Importers & brand owners — commonly treated as the responsible face of foreign-made goods; you are the realistic target if the overseas manufacturer cannot be pursued.
• Distributors & retailers — exposure for selling adulterated/expired goods, mislabeling, and for ignoring red flags; contractual indemnities can shift cost but do not shield you from regulators.
• Marketplaces — while Bangladesh has no express “platform liability” statute, online operators face consumer-law and advertising/misrepresentation risk, and can be drawn into DNCRP actions for poor seller governance.

The three main legal routes

A) Contract & sales law (Sale of Goods Act, 1930)

• Implied conditions/warranties: title, merchantable/acceptable quality, fitness for purpose (where the buyer relies on seller’s skill or judgment), and correspondence with description/sample.
• Privity: contractual claims typically lie between buyer and immediate seller. Manufacturers reduce downstream risk through terms, disclaimers, and back-to-back indemnities, but cannot wholly avoid negligence or regulatory exposure.
• Remedies: rejection, repair/replace, damages, price reduction. Draft your sale terms so remedies and procedures are crystal clear—without attempting to contract out of mandatory protections.

B) Statutory consumer protection (CRPA 2009)

• Targets adulteration, unsafe goods, false claims, short weight/measure, expired/re-labeled items, and unfair practices.
• DNCRP process: a consumer (or an eligible complainant) files a complaint promptly; DNCRP may inspect, mediate, seize stock, and fine the trader. A portion of realized fines is paid to the complainant.
• Relief: administrative penalties, orders to replace/refund/withdraw products, and corrective advertising. For significant personal injury or property loss, civil litigation is the route to full damages.

C) Tort (negligence)

• Plaintiffs allege the producer/seller owed a duty, breached it by supplying a defective/unsafe product or by failing to warn, and caused compensable harm.
• Expect expert evidence on defect, causation, and safer alternative designs. Contract disclaimers don’t defeat negligence where you owed a duty of care.

Sector overlays that matter

• Food & beverages: The Food Safety Act, 2013 empowers regulators to declare food unsafe, order withdrawal/recall, and prosecute serious violations. Documentation around ingredients, batches, shelf-life, storage temperature, and traceability is critical.
• Drugs & cosmetics: Pharmaceutical and quasi-pharma categories trigger strict licensing, labeling, good-manufacturing, and pharmacovigilance-style expectations.
• Electricals/electronics, toys, helmets, LPG & pressure equipment: Expect BSTI standards and periodic testing; for high-risk goods, insist on third-party labs and conformity marks.
• Chemicals & hazmat: Import and storage licensing, safety data sheets (SDS), and spill/incident protocols.

E-commerce and omni-channel realities

• The same legal standards apply online and offline. Product pages must accurately describe goods, disclose total price (no “drip pricing”), show warranty/return terms, and identify the seller/brand owner.
• Marketplaces should vet sellers, remove repeat offenders, honor refund SLAs, and keep evidence trails (invoices, shipping proof, refund logs). Poor seller governance invites DNCRP scrutiny and reputational loss.

Defences & mitigation

• No defect / compliance with standards: show conformity with BSTI standards, authoritative international standards, and your own control plans (incoming QC, in-process checks, final inspection).
• Misuse / alteration: demonstrate unforeseeable misuse or post-sale alteration that caused the harm.
• Learned intermediary (narrow contexts): for medical/technical products, robust IFUs (instructions for use) and professional training can matter.
• Contributory negligence: where the consumer ignored clear warnings or maintenance instructions.

Courts (and DNCRP) take a documentation-first view: calibrations, batch records, temperature logs, test reports, recall files. If it isn’t documented, it didn’t happen.

Evidence & documentation you should have before anything goes wrong

• Design control: risk assessments (FMEA/FTA, as appropriate), safer-alternative analysis, standards mapping.
• Supplier files: approvals, audits, COAs, CP/CTQ specs, change-control records.
• Manufacturing: batch records, yield and deviation logs, QA releases, stability/shelf-life evidence (food/pharma).
• Distribution: cold-chain data, shock/temp loggers, handling SOPs, and first-expiry-first-out (FEFO) reports.
• After-sale: complaint register (coded by defect), CAPA logs, field safety notices, and customer-notice templates.
• Labeling & warnings: language, legibility, icons, and placement tested with real users.

Recalls & withdrawals (how they work in practice)

Bangladesh does not operate a single national “recall code” for all categories, but food and high-risk goods can face mandatory withdrawals by regulators. A robust company plan should include:

1. Trigger criteria (safety signals, complaints trend, test failure).
2. Crisis team roles (QA, legal, PR, logistics).
3. Scope & lot traceability (which SKUs, which batches, where they are now).
4. Communications: notices to distributors/retailers, website banners, social posts, and hotline scripts.
5. Reverse logistics and safe disposal with proof.
6. Regulator liaison: keep DNCRP and relevant sector authorities informed.
7. Post-mortem CAPA and training refresh.

Voluntary, fast action often limits penalties and civil exposure.

Remedies & exposure at a glance

• Administrative (CRPA): fines; orders to refund/replace/withdraw; possible seizure; complainant receives a statutory share of realized fines.
• Civil: damages for personal injury, property damage, and pure economic loss (where recoverable), plus injunctions for ongoing hazards.
• Criminal: serious food/drug adulteration and knowingly selling hazardous goods can attract prosecution under sector laws or the Penal Code.

Timelines & limitation

• Consumer complaints (CRPA): the statute expects prompt filing with DNCRP (practically, within a short window from the incident/discovery). Don’t delay—evidence goes stale fast.
• Civil suits: limitation periods depend on the cause of action; contract claims generally track commercial limitation periods, and tort claims have category-specific limits. As a working rule, plan your investigations and preservation within weeks, not months, and seek advice early to protect your position.

Insurance & financing the risk

• Product liability insurance: size limits to match your hazard profile; check territorial scope and jurisdiction clauses so Bangladesh claims are covered.
• Product recall insurance: consider for perishables, pharma-adjacent products, or complex electronics.
• Supplier financial security: performance bonds, parent guarantees, and escrowed reserves for recall/remedy costs on private-label goods.

Contract architecture that actually works

With suppliers (OEM/ODM/toll):

• Quality annex: specs, standards, AQL, sampling plans, stability requirements, and change control.
• Testing & audits: on-site audits, third-party labs, unannounced inspections for high-risk goods.
• Warranties: compliance with law/standards, freedom from defects, and duration aligned to real-world usage.
• Indemnities: third-party injury, recall costs, regulatory penalties arising from supplier breach.
• Traceability & documentation: batch IDs, serials, label controls, and right to production records.
• Insurance: minimum limits; add you as additional insured; evidence of premium paid.
• Remedy choreography: who leads the recall, who drafts notices, who bears logistics and disposal.

With distributors/retailers:

• Handling & storage: temperature/humidity, FEFO, stock rotation, and transport conditions; audit rights.
• Customer service: warranty handling SLAs and RMA workflows; data-sharing for safety incidents.
• Brand & claims: no unapproved health/safety claims; pre-approval for advertising; social-media guidelines.
• De-branding & returns: timed takedown of signage/listings; return or certified destruction of stock.
• Compliance clause: CRPA, Food Safety (where applicable), standards, labeling law, weights & measures.

With marketplaces & influencers:

• Seller KYC and brand authorization letters.
• Take-down policy and repeat-offender de-listing.
• Influencer substantiation: claims scripts, no “miracle cure” claims, and ad disclosures.

In-house compliance playbook (what to implement in month one)

1. Product dossier for each SKU: standards mapping, test reports, labeling proofs, and manuals.
2. Supplier risk scores: audit cadence set by risk (critical/raw materials vs. packaging).
3. Complaint intake system with severity coding and 72-hour escalation rules.
4. Incident response: roles, phone tree, draft recall notices, and regulator contact sheet.
5. Shipper & warehouse SOPs: temperature mapping, logger download routines, deviation handling.
6. Retail & e-commerce scripts: refund/repair/replace logic, refunds to original payment method, and clear warranty terms in Bangla and English.
7. Training: front-line sales, warehouse crew, category managers—45-minute practical refreshers every quarter.
8. Mystery-shop/test-buy: quarterly, including online orders to your own storefront.

If something goes wrong: a 72-hour action checklist

Hour 0–8

• Stop distribution of the suspect lot; quarantine inventory in WMS.
• Preserve evidence: batch records, COAs, calibrated equipment logs, temperature data, CCTV (if relevant).
• Form your incident team; notify legal and QA.

Hour 8–24

• Rapid risk assessment (likelihood/severity); draft consumer and trade notices (hold for counsel sign-off).
• Alert distributors/retailers to stop sale on affected lots.
• Decide on voluntary withdrawal/recall scope (provisional).

Hour 24–48

• Notify regulators as appropriate; prepare Q\&A and call-center scripts.
• Launch reverse logistics; arrange test confirmations where needed.

Hour 48–72

• Go public if risk warrants; keep notices prominent on website and storefronts.
• Lock in CAPA steps, supplier claims, and insurance notice.
• Schedule a post-mortem with assigned owners and dates.

FAQs

Q1. Can I exclude all warranties in my terms and conditions?
You can limit or define remedies in B2B contracts, but you cannot contract out of statutory obligations or mislead consumers. Courts and DNCRP take a dim view of blanket exclusions that conflict with mandatory protections.

Q2. Is compliance with BSTI or international standards a complete defence?
No—but it’s powerful evidence of due care. Pair compliance with solid design risk analyses, supplier controls, and clear warnings.

Q3. How fast do I need to act on consumer complaints?
Immediately. Consumer law anticipates prompt complaints and prompt remedies. Delays compound penalties and civil exposure. Build SLAs into your customer-care and distributor agreements.

Q4. Can an online marketplace escape liability by saying “we’re just a platform”?
Not reliably. Marketplaces face scrutiny if they enable or ignore harmful listings, delay refunds, or host repeat offenders. Strong seller KYC, takedowns, and refund SLAs are your best shield.

Q5. What courts or forums hear product cases?

• DNCRP handles administrative consumer cases (fines, replacement/refund orders).
• Civil courts hear damages suits (contract/tort).
• Sector regulators (e.g., food) can order withdrawals and prosecute serious offences.

How TRW helps

• Front-load risk mapping: product dossiers, standards, labeling, packaging compliance.
• Contract suite: OEM/ODM, distributor/retailer, marketplace, influencer, and recall/withdrawal annexes.
• Crisis readiness: incident playbooks, regulator engagement scripts, and mock-recall drills.
• Dispute strategy: DNCRP responses, negotiated resolutions, and civil litigation/arbitration when needed.
• Insurance & finance: policy reviews, supplier security, and recoveries.

Want a one-page Product Liability Compliance Map tailored to your SKUs and channels? We’ll build it for your board and ops teams.

References (max 3)

1. Consumers’ Rights Protection Act, 2009 (Bangladesh) — core consumer statute and DNCRP authority. (Bangladesh Laws)
2. Food Safety Act, 2013 (Bangladesh) — establishes the Food Safety Authority and empowers withdrawals for unsafe food. (FAOHome)
3. Sale of Goods Act, 1930 (Bangladesh) — implied conditions/warranties and contract remedies for defective goods. (Bangladesh Laws)

Disclaimer: This guide is general information, not legal advice. Laws, standards, and enforcement practices change; obtain tailored advice for your products and distribution model.