Civil supplies department has no mechanism to redress grievances
Legal experts say that multiplexes, restaurant chains charging above the MRP is blatant violation of consumer protection Act
Chennai: Last month, five shopkeepers from the Koyambedu bus stand were arrested by the city police when passengers complained that they sold their products above the prescribed maxium retail prices (MRP).After this incident, every shop on the premises of Chennai mofussil bus terminus (CMBT) has put up a board saying they sell only at the MRP and are adhering to it too.
The incident is one among many that are being reported in the city. The absence of a proper mechanism to deal with those charging over the MRP leads to the problem. Legal experts say that multiplexes, restaurant chains charging above the MRP is blatant violation of consumer protection Act.A week back, when Tom Michael, a 25-year-old resident of Nungambakkm, was catching a bus at the Koyambedu private bus stand, he bought a bottle of water from a stall there. He was given a bottle of water with an MRP of Rs15 but was asked to pay Rs20. When he asked about it, the shopkeeper said it was for keeping it cool. As he was in a hurry, Tom paid and left.
The civil supplies and consumer protection department has a dedicated helpline to deal with such issues, but it has no mechanism to redress.Commissioner of civil supplies and consumer protection department, Mr S. Gopalakrishnan, says, “In case of a complaint, the consumer can approach the supplies officer at the nearest tahsildar office with the complaint or call the helpline. The officer will check and warn the shopkeeper.”
But he agrees that there is no constant check on the retail prices and that absence of a purchase bill does not help the customer’s case. Mr A. Palaniappan, member of the Madras consumer court bar association, says, “The civil supplies helpline only gives options to the customer and nothing more. In a similar instance, when a complaint is given to the Bureau of Indian Standards, a layman is sent to check and then based on his experience, action is initiated. But BIS deals with quality and quantity of product and not MRP.”
“Presently, a law is in the discussion stage which could address the issue,” says Mr Palaniappan. This would make non-issuance of a bill an offence and shops will be mandated to give a bill for every transaction.MRP includes charges for manufacture, cold storage, logistics support and profit of the retailers. Therefore, the consumer need not pay anything above MRP.
Consumer Association of India founder R. Desikan says, “The change has to come from the consumer who nowadays readily accepts to pay the extra cash and does not question. The laws can help only to a certain limit-beyond that people have to take the initiative.”
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