Delhi

East Delhi

CC/909/2013

SARITA - Complainant(s)

Versus

BIG BAZAR - Opp.Party(s)

10 Jan 2014

ORDER

Sarita Narain vs.  Big Bazaar

 

 

 

Counsel for the complainant Sh. Pawan Kumar Sharma present and Counsel for the respondent Sh. Naiyar Mateen also present.

 

Heard the arguments.

 

 The short question that arises in this complaint is as to whether the respondent from whom the complainant had purchased the grocery on 13/06/2012 and paid the bill of Rs.3512.80 is guilty of Unfair Trade Practice or not? In the present case, the Complainant purchased articles which also included the Ramdev Turmeric Powder 500 gm & Breeze Dev SNDL. When she checked the bill, she was shocked to find that the Turmeric powder with printed MRP of Rs.90/- was charged in the said bill at Rs. 160/- per piece & the Breeze Dev SNDL with printed MRP Rs.30/- was charged at the rate of Rs.40/- per packet & for two packets she paid Rs.80/-. The respondent charged the excessive price on both the items over the MRP without providing the additional services alongwith those items and this is a clear case of unfair trade practice.

 

            The respondent in their reply have evasively stated that the overbilling for the alleged articles is an inadvertent oversight committed by the staff of the respondent and it is not a deliberate act of the respondent to sell the goods on price above the MRP to the complainant. It has never been the intention of the respondent to dupe the complainant. In the affidavit of Mr. Amit Gupta filed on behalf of the respondent the averments as contained in the Written Statement have been reiterated on oath. The respondent could not dare to deny the fact of overcharging the amount on the two items mentioned in the complaint. The complainant complained that the respondent establishment is indulging in unfair trade practice. She was vigilant & could notice its mischief. By and large, the customers do not pay that much attention at the time of making the payment and by scrutinizing the bill at home. If this is a regular feature of the establishment of the respondent then they must be making the huge money by over charging the customers and this requires thorough scrutiny by the competent departments of the Government to find out the facts and the magnitude of the amount earned by the respondent by indulging in such unfair trade practice. We find substance in the submission of the complainant and her counsel. Now a days in the name of modernity people avoid asking the shopkeeper even the price of the goods they intend to purchase and make the payment of whatever is being asked. It is the duty of the seller or the service provider to be honest and charge the customers the MRP (Maximum Retail Price) including the tax or excluding the tax, as the case may be. In any case they are prohibited by law to charge above the MRP. Big Bazar is a big retail chain and by indulging in this kind of unfair trade practice, they are cheating the indian public and making huge profits. The Departments of Trade & Taxes and Income Tax should jointly take action to scrutinize the accounts of Big Bazaar to find out the mischief they have committed with the customers and recover from them with penalty & tax due thereon the amount which they have over-charged in excess. The over-charged amount so recovered should be returned to the victims of mischief & if it is not possible they should deposit it in the Consumer Legal Aid.

 

We allow this complaint with the direction that the respondent shall refund to the complainant the excess amount charged i.e. Rs.90/- together with 12% p.a. interest thereon from the date of purchase of the articles by the complainant till it is finally paid. Taking all the facts and circumstances noted above, we award the compensation of Rs.1,00,000/-, out of which Rs.80,000/- shall be deposited in the Consumer Legal Aid Account and Rs.20,000/- shall be paid to the complainant. Let the order be complied within 30 days from the date of receipt of this order and if not paid, 9% p.a. additional interest shall be payable by the respondent till it is finally paid.

 

Let the copy of this order be served upon the Chief Commissioner (Income Tax), Secretary Finance (GOI), Commissioner of Trade &Taxes, and a copy may also forwarded to the Finance Secretary, Govt. of NCT of Delhi, for taking appropriate action.