I.

Faculty
Mr. Mohammed Azaad, Assistant Professor of Law, TNNLU.
II. Rapporteur
Ms. Ishwarya Devi C, IV Year B.Com. LL.B. (Hons.) (Reg No – BC0150007)
III. Contents of the Class
A. Introduction
The concept of Unfair Trade Practice draws a parallel from the previously applicable
Monopoly Restrictive Trade Practice (MRTP) Act, 1969 which has now been replaced by the
Competition Act, 2002. Section 36A of the erstwhile Monopolies and Restrictive Trade
Practices Act, 1969 (MRTP Act), where 'unfair trade practice' was defined as a trade practice,
which, for the purpose of promoting the sale, use or supply of any goods or for the provision
of any services adopts any unfair method or unfair or deceptive practice including oral, written
or visible misrepresentations regarding standard, quality, status, condition usefulness and price
of goods or services; false warranty, guarantee or promise regarding goods or services;
disparaging of goods and services of another person; and false advertising and misrepresenting
with regard to the gifts, prizes and offers in sale etc.

B. Clauses in Unfair Trade Practices

The Consumer Protection Act says that a business must not engage in any conduct that
misleads or deceives consumers. The Act also specifically prohibits a number of claims or
trading practices which are relevant for all businesses and professionals.

 False representation that goods are of a particular kind, standard, quality, grade,
wuantity, composition, style or model, or have had a particular history or particular
previous use;
 False representations that goods are new, or that they are reconditioned, or that they
were manufactured, produced, processed or reconditioned at a particular time;
 False representations that goods or services have any sponsorship, approval,
endorsement performance characteristics, accessories, use or benefits;
 False representations that a person has any sponsorship approval, endorsement or
affiliation;
 False or misleading representations about the price of goods or services;
 False or misleading representation about the existence, exclusion or effect of any
condition, warranty, guarantee, right to remedy;
 False or misleading representation about the place of origin of goods;
  The offering of gifts or prizes when there is no intention to provide them or when they
are not provided as offered;
 Bait advertising: the offering of vehicles or services related to them, at a specific price
without intending to supply them.

Whether or not a business intends to mislead a customer is an irrelevant consideration under

the Consumer Protection Act. The fact that the behaviour was misleading is what matters. It is
also not necessary to show that any particular person was in fact deceived, only that an average
customer could have been.

C. Changes in 2011 Amendment

When we look at the proposed expansion of the concept of Unfair Trade Practice in the
2011 Amendment Bill there is also an addition of three new clauses in the definition.

a) Failure to provide a bill, cash-memo or a receipt to a consumer will be deemed an unfair

trade practice.

b) Failure to take back the goods or withdraw the services within a period of 30 days after the
receipt of the goods by the consumer.

c) Disclosure of confidential personal information.

So in this way, the act of failing to issue a bill, cash memo or a receipt would also constitute
an Unfair Trade Practice and would in turn give the consumer a right to seek remedy for
violation of such a right, and this privilege or protection was not given to the consumers earlier.
The 2011 amendment also guarantees a right of return to the consumer and makes violation of
this right an Unfair Trade Practice.

D. Conclusion
The Consumer Protection Act and the Bill are designed so as to prevent any kind of
trade that engage in unfair trade practices whether specified or not and more importantly
provides for protection for the consumers who are subject to this trade. This amendment is a
step towards the importance of recognition of the concept of unfair trade practice which shall
not be neglected at any cost, especially with the Consumer Protection Act being the sole
defining authority for it, where the term shall be given additional attention in its definition in
order to protect all the requisite rights of consumers in order to avoid any ambiguities. For
example, when we look into the right of return given to the consumers, we notice that this is
only possible if the goods remain unused or if the service is continuous in nature. Whereas, in
situations when the goods or services are used only once and are extinguished, there is no
mention as to whether, on being unsatisfied, any facility or option for the money to be returned
to the consumer is available. Even though there are still such questions which remain
unanswered, we have to appreciate these changes being made in the Bill, as they bring to our
attention the safeguards that need to be provided to the consumers against unfair trade practices.

IV. Method of Delivery

The resource person’s method of delivery was primarily lecture and discussion method.

V. Teaching Aids Used

The white board was used for writing key points.

VI. Intensity of Interaction

The session was largely a lecture and questions were raised then and there with regard
to Unfair Trade Practices.

VII. Relevance and Usefulness of the Session to the Class