A paint company advertised that its new wall paint contained no lead. Many buyers chose it because of this claim. Laboratory tests later showed that the paint did contain lead.
Which of the following correctly names the trade practice of the company and the consumer right affected by it under the Consumer Protection Act, 2019?
Answer & explanation
Correct answer: option 3
The correct answer is Option (3) → Unfair trade practice; Right to be informed
Option (1) Restrictive trade practice; Right to be informed — Incorrect. The company did not manipulate price or the flow of supplies, so this is not a restrictive trade practice. The right named is the one affected, but the practice is named wrongly.
Option (2) Unfair trade practice; Right to be assured — Incorrect. The practice is named rightly. But the Right to be assured is the freedom to access a variety of products at competitive prices. Here the buyers were misled about what the paint contained.
Option (3) Unfair trade practice; Right to be informed — Correct. The claim of no lead was false. It falsely represented the composition of the paint to promote its sale, which is an unfair trade practice. It also denied buyers true information about the ingredients, which the Right to be informed protects.
Option (4) Restrictive trade practice; Right to be assured — Incorrect. Both parts are wrong. There was no control of price or supply, and the buyers’ choice of products was not limited.
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.” “5. Restrictive trade practice: A trade practice which manipulates price or affect the flow of supplies in the market relating to goods and services in such a manner that an unjustified cost is imposed on the consumer.” “2. Right to be informed: The consumer has a right to have complete information about the product he intends to buy including its ingredients, date of manufacture, price, quantity, directions for use, etc. It is because of this reason that the legal framework in India requires the manufactures to provide such information on the package and label of the product.” “3. Right to be assured: The consumer has the freedom to access variety of products at competitive prices. This implies that the marketers should offer a wide variety of products in terms of quality, brand, prices, size, etc. and allow the consumer to make a choice from amongst these.” |