The apex court held that hotels and restaurants can charge to their customers more than the MRP marked on a bottle of the mineral water.
The Supreme Court on Tuesday rejected the government's stand of imposing a monetary fine and a jailtermm on restaurant owners and other persons who would sell mineral water bottles over and above their maximum retail price (MRP).
The apex court held that hotels and restaurants can charge to their customers more than the MRP marked on a bottle of the mineral water.
While the government argued that asking for higher price was not only against the consumer interest but may also leads to tax evasion. In its affidivit the government said, "Sale of packaged water over MRP by hotels and restaurants may have implications regarding tax evasion as a bottle purchased by a hotel at cost price, which should be sold at MRP or less, is being sold at much higher prices, leading to possible loss of additional revenue to the government in the form of service tax or excise duty etc.," said the government."
But the Federation of Hotel and Restaurant Associations of India had argued that charging prices for mineral water in excess of MRP during the service does neither violate the provisions of the Standards of Weights and Measures Act/the Packaged Commodities Rules nor the new law.
The Bench led by justice Rohinton Nariman also said that the customer does not go to a hotel or a restaurant just to purchase the bottled water but wants to enjoy the ambiance available there, so services are also involved.
Last year in October, Food and Consumer Affairs Minister Ram Vilas Paswan had said that sale of packaged water and soft drinks above MRP (Maximum Retail Price) -- including at airports, multiplexes and hotels -- would attract stringent penal actions like fines and jail term.
In June, Ram Vilas Paswan also approved the amendments to the Legal Metrology (Packaged Commodities) Rules, 2011. According to the amendment, goods displayed by the seller on e-commerce platform must contain information like name & Address of the manufacturer, packer and importer, name of the commodity, net content, retail sale price, consumer care complaint, dimension etc.
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 "SC rejects govt's stand of imposing jail term for selling mineral water above MRP")
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