X sold an article to Y at a profit of 18%. Later on, Y sold it back to X at a profit of 40%, thereby gaining ₹118. How much did X pay for the article originally?

₹250

The correct answer is Option (4) → ₹250

Step 1: Let the cost price for X be ₹x

• X sells to Y at 18% profit:

$\text{Selling price (X → Y)} = x + 0.18x = 1.18x$

Step 2: Y sells back to X at 40% profit

• Let Y’s cost price = 1.18x
• Y’s selling price = 1.18x × 1.40 = 1.652x

Step 3: Y’s gain = ₹118

$\text{Y’s gain} = \text{SP} - \text{CP} = 1.652x - 1.18x = 0.472x$

$0.472x=118$

$x = \frac{118}{0.472} = 250$