EXPANDING SCOPE OF MERCHANTABLE QUALITY

In the times of information asymmetry and the growing disparity between the knowledge of a said product obtained by a consumer for its maximum utilisation from the supplier or the manufacturer/producer becomes crucial. There are several laws arounds the globe protecting the interest of innocent customers, such as, we have the newly amended Consumer Protection Act of 2019 in India. The goods to match their descriptive quality (merchantable quality) or fitness becomes paramount. But can the seller be held liable if the goods were already examined before purchasing? Can the sale be repudiated if only a part of goods are defected? Does durability and reasonable value come under the ambit of merchantable quality? This article answers all these questions by analysing and comparing the status of provisions provided under the Indian and English Laws on Sale of Goods, which keep a check on the seller’s duty and responsibility to supply goods of the satisfactory quality. The article also encompasses the stages of development of the English law over a period of time and how the Indian Sale of Goods Act of 1930 is falling short of it. Some reforms/suggestions proposed by the Law Commission, mentioned in the article, have yet to be acted upon by the legislature in making the law on merchantable quality more inclusive and contemporary.