MRTPC asks DLF to follow BIS standards for calculating carpet area

New Delhi, Oct 17 (UNI) The Monopolies and Restrictive Trade Practices Commission (MRTPC) has held that the DLF Universal Ltd indulged in unfair trade practice and came under the scrutiny of section 36-A of the MRTP Act by not disclosing to the complainant, K P Jain, the basis of carpet area calculations thus prejudicing the interest of consumers.

The Commission held that suppression of norms by DLF in calculating carpet area has a flavour of misrepresentation.

An agreement was entered into with DLF for purchase of office space. According to this agreement, the complainant would have a super area of approximately 101.46 sq m, which includes carpet area of about 74.88 sq m, which works out to carpet area of 73.80 per cent 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 BIS.

DLF rejected the idea of applying BIS's norms as they are not statutory in nature.''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 said.

The Commission has directed DLF to raise a fresh demand calculating the carpet area on the basis of the BIS standards.

UNI