Verdict

So, can a hotel or a restaurant charge for a bottle of drinking water more than the MRP marked on the container? Yes, as per the judgement pronounced by the Delhi High Court stating that hotels and restaurants may charge more because they also provide ambience and services to their customers. This was in 2007 in the matter of Federation of Hotels and Restaurants Association of India and others versus Union of India. (The same judgement was upheld in 2009 in Delhi Gymkhana Club versus Union of India.)

Case 1

The question raised in 2007 in the case of Federation of Hotels and Restaurants Association of India versus Union of India was ‘whether it is permissible for a hotel to charge their customers any price above the maximum retail price mentioned on the mineral water bottle’. The court held in clear terms that “charging price for mineral water in excess of the MRP printed on the packaging, in the provision of service to the customers, does not violate any of the provisions of the standards of weights and measurement act as it does not constitute a sale or transfer of the commodity to them.” Stating that billing by hotelier/restaurant for service and goods was one and indivisible, the court ruled that a customer, when entering a hotel or a restaurant, was there not