Just before a festival, some wholesalers in a town held back their stocks of sugar. The supply of sugar in the market fell, its price rose, and buyers had to pay much more than usual.
Going by the terms defined under the Consumer Protection Act, 2019, the action of the wholesalers is best described as:
Answer & explanation
Correct answer: option 1
The correct answer is Option (1) → Restrictive trade practice
Option (1) Restrictive trade practice — Correct. Holding back stocks affects the flow of supplies. The price rose, and buyers had to pay an unjustified cost. This is a restrictive trade practice.
Option (2) Unfair trade practice — Incorrect. An unfair trade practice falsely represents the quality, standard, quantity, composition, style or model of goods. The wholesalers made no false claim about the sugar.
Option (3) Deficiency in services — Incorrect. Deficiency is a fault in a service. The wholesalers changed the supply of goods.
Option (4) Defect in goods — Incorrect. A defect is a fault in the goods themselves. The sugar had no fault.
NCERT (2026-27 Edition): “Terms & Definitions … 4. Unfair trade practice: A trade practice for the purpose of promoting sale, use or supply of any goods or service falsely represents its quality, standard, quantity, composition, style or model. |