Overcharging Can Fetch Penalty
d) No retail dealer or other person shall obliterate, smudge or alter the retail sale price, indicated by the manufacturer or the packer, as the case may be, on the package or on the label affixed thereto.
e) The manufacturer or packer shall not alter the price on the wrapper once printed and used for packing.
Thus, altering the price is a clear violation of the Packaged Commodities Rules and because the state governments enforce the rules, a consumer can complain to the department of legal metrology. At the website of the ministry of consumer affairs (consumeraffairs.nic.in), one can get the telephone numbers and addresses of the controllers of legal metrology in the states. According to Legal Metrology Act, 2009, offenders can be made to pay a fee of up to Rs 5,000 for the first offence and can be prosecuted and imprisoned for up to six months for the second. Bringing up the issue of overcharging, Mumbai Grahak Panchayat chairperson Shirish Deshpande had once remarked, “If 35 lakh litres of milk is traded in Mumbai daily and 70 per cent (24 lakh) of it is overcharged by one rupee, then consumers are fleeced for about Rs 24 lakh every day. This is a huge amount of untaxed money that vendors charge illegally, causing a loss not just to consumers but also to the government.”
A Deceptive Price, Is It?
Here are a few observations to help you make your own opinion about the MRP: as some retailers give you any discount citing minimal margins on selling price. difference between ex-factory price and the MRP is quite high. excise duty on the ex-factory price. Therefore, it amended the Central Excise Act, 1976, and empowered itself to levy excise duty on MRP, rather than on the manufacturing price or exfactory price for goods falling under the purview of Standards of Weights and Measures Act or any other law. MRP. The consumer continues to be at the mercy of retailers, who sell the products at MRP without any discounts. freight transport charges, commission payable to dealers, all charges towards advertisement, delivery, packing, forwarding and the like. However, the commission payable to dealers, advertisement charges, etc., which are not fixed by the government and other such factors result in escalation of the retail price to the detriment of the consumer. often used by the manufacturers for profiteering, such as giving the impression that MRP is fixed by the government. In some cases MRP is followed by ‘local taxes extra’, which is totally illegal.
Consumers Must Note
attracts penal provision. However, selling below the MRP depends on various factors such as competition, freight elements and taxes. The consumer has the right to bargain on MRP. wrapper and used for packing cannot be altered on the higher side. The retailer cannot affix stickers on it for increasing the price. should be total transparency so that a consumer does not feel cheated.