DLF Universal Limited has been pulled up by the Monopolies and Restrictive Trade Practices Commission (MRTPC) for indulging in unfair trade practice by not disclosing to the complainant, K.P. Jain, the basis of carpet area calculations thus prejudicing the interest of consumers.
The MRTP Commission held that suppression of norms by DLF in calculating carpet area has a flavour of misrepresentation. An agreement was entered into with the DLF for purchase of office space. According to this agreement the complainant would have a super area of approximately 101.46 sq. mtrs., which includes carpet area of 74.88 sq. mtrs. (approx.), which works out to carpet area of 73.80% of the super area.
The complainant was under the impression that the carpet area would be equal to floor area without including the thickness of the bounding walls.
DLF contended that carpet area would be floor area of the shop plus the thickness of its bounding walls. The respondent kept this view to itself without disclosing the same to the petitioner at the time of agreement.
The petitioner relied upon the norms recommended by Bureau of Indian Standards (BIS). DLF rejected the idea of applying BIS’s norms as they are not statutory in nature. The Commission pointed, “In such a situation when norms are not defined statutorily, it was all the more necessary for the respondent to define carpet area in terms of the norms understood by it and not to keep the same with itself to surprise the complainant”.
The Commission has directed DLF Ltd. to raise a fresh demand calculating the carpet area on the basis of the BIS standards.
