HYDERABAD: The District Consumer Disputes Redressal Forum-II directed Penguin Books India and a Noida-based paper company Gopsons on Wednesday to pay a compensation of Rs 12,500 for not printing the maximum retail price (MRP) on a book that they sold, amounting to unfair trade practice.
Under Section 12 of the Consumer Protection Act, 1986, manufacturers need to print the MRP on the packaging of consumer goods so that the consumer is not get overcharged by the agents/dealer. However, many sellers time and again flout this rule.
In a similar incident, Baglekar Akash Kumar, 21, a fourth-year law student of Osmania University, bought a book — OUTLIERS: The Story of Success by Malcom Gladwell, published by Penguin Books India Pvt. Ltd — in October 2018. However, there was no MRP on the book. “I had brought the book from Flipkart for Rs281. As there was no mention of the MRP, I went and checked the price of the book on other online platforms. I found that the price for the book was different on different online platforms This is a clear violation of consumer rights,” said Kumar.
Following this, Akash filed a complaint with the District Consumer Disputes Redressal Forum-II on October 22, 2018, after more than a year later the court has found both Penguin Books India Pvt. Ltd and the paper company guilty. In a recent statement, the forum said “As the opposite party failed to establish the reasons as to why they have not printed the MRP on the book, supplied to the complainant, it amounts to adoption of unfair trade practice. For this, both the opposite parties are found to be guilty.”
In this regard, the court has directed the publishers to print and publish the retail price on the product (books). The forum has also awarded a compensation of Rs 10, 000 towards compensation for causing mental agony and for unfair acts and additionally, Rs2, 500 as cost award.