25 July 2011
Under the Weights and Measures (Packaged Commodities) Rules, all packed goods should carry certain essential information on the contents of the package, such as its weight or volume, the name and address of the manufacturer, the date of manufacture, and in case of food packages, the best before date and, of course, the maximum retail price (MRP).
Under the Consumer Goods (Mandatory Printing of Cost of Production and Maximum Retail Price) Act, 2006, certain guidelines has been provided so that the consumer can not charged over to the maximum price printed on the goods by the manufacturer. These guidelines are as follows:
1. consumer goods mean all goods and items brought in the market for sale and are meant for the use and consumption of the consumers; 2. cost of production means cost incurred directly or indirectly by the manufacturer in the production of goods; 3.printing means printing of the cost of production and retail price at a visible place on the product in Hindi and English and the local language of the place it is sold; and 4. maximum retail price means such price at which the product shall be sold in retail and such price shall include all taxes levied on the product.
The legislation has made it mandatory for the manufacturers to printing of cost of production and maximum retail price on packaging of consumer goods, so that the consumer could not get overcharged by the agents/dealer.
It is essential for the consumers to know the difference between the maximum retail price and actual price of the goods. The maximum retail price is inclusive of all taxes and a retailer can sell at a price below the MRP. In fact consumers should always look for retailers who sell below the MRP because the MRP is the maximum retail price allowed for that commodity and not the actual price and a retailer can well reduce his margin built into the MRP. While on the other hand, the actual price could be about 10-15 per cent lower than the MRP. Sometimes the printed MRP is so high that the difference between the selling price and the MRP can be as much as 30-50 per cent. It is an offence to sell at a price higher than the marked price. Whereas the actual price could be about 10-15 per cent lower than the MRP.
Some times it has been found that the consumers go to market and take products from the shops without even looking the MRP written on the packaging and carton of the products. In that situation dealer told the price of the products to the buyer and also sates that I would give you on discount rate. After buying the same when buyer comes back to home than only he/she finds that the price of the goods mentioned on the packaging and carton is already less than the price on which he/she has bought after discount. Under the Standards of Weights and Measures (Packaged Commodities) Rules, manufacturers have to specify on all pre-packed goods meant for retail sale, the MRP inclusive of all taxes. This is a requirement meant to ensure that consumers are not misled by the agents/dealer and shopkeepers about the price of packed goods. Overcharging is an offence for which the trader can be prosecuted and prosecution can be launched against the manufacturer in case the packaged commodities bears the price which is altered. In the above-mentioned case, the dealer takes advantage of the fact that the consumer could not see the packaging and quoted a higher MRP.
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