Unfair Trade Practices

Subject – Economy

Context – Now selling counterfeit cookers, helmets, or gas cylinders offence

Concept –

The Centre announced launch of a nation-wide campaign to prevent sale of spurious and counterfeit goods that violate Quality Control Orders as its violation is a cognisable offence under relevant sections of the BIS Act.
Selling of such sub-standard helmets, pressure cookers, and cooking gas cylinders can be dangerous, hazardous and risk causing harm to consumers.
Hence, the Central Consumer Protection Authority (CCPA) under the Department of Consumer Affairs, Ministry of Consumer Affairs, Food and Public Distribution announced that violation of compulsory standards has been categorized as a cognisable offence u/s 29 (4) of the BIS Act.
Under Section 2(47) of the Act, unfair trade practice includes promoting the sale, use or supply of any goods which adopts any unfair method or unfair or deceptive practice by falsely representing that the goods are of a particular standard, quality, quantity, grade, composition, style, or model.
Taking suo moto cognizance of unfair trade practice involving sale of such goods to the consumers, the CCPA decided to initiate a country-wide campaign to prevent sale of such spurious and counterfeit goods.

Bureau of Indian standards (BIS) Act 2016

The Bureau of Indian standards (BIS) Act 2016 establishes the Bureau of Indian Standards (BIS) as the National Standards Body of India.
BIS Act allows multiple types of simplified conformity assessment schemes including self-declaration of conformity.
BIS act provides enabling provisions for making hallmarking of precious metal articles mandatory.
The Act enables the Central Government to appoint any authority/agency, in addition to the BIS, to verify the conformity of products and services with the established standard and issue certificate of conformity.
There is a provision for repair or recall, of the products (bearing Standard Mark) that do not conform to the relevant Indian Standard.