Mangaluru: Every person consuming alcohol has been through this experience, but no one speaks about it! Almost every liquor shop in the city is cheating customers by charging more than the maximum retail price (MRP).
Eight sachets of whisky costing Rs 70 each, with a bill of Rs 680 (Rs 15 extra per sachet)
A consumer had bought eight sachets of 180ml of whisky at a retail wine shop in Suratkhal. The wine shop collected Rs.85 for each sachet, but the MRP on the sachet was Rs.70. When asked the reason behind colleceting Rs.15 extra for each 180 ml, without any hesitation the man in the counter said, that is the price. Quietly, the customer collected the bill for the amount he paid.
Maximum Retail Price (MRP) means a price at which the product shall be sold in retail and that price shall include all taxes levied on the product. Wine, beer and other liquor are also covered under the MRP. Complaints from consumer about MRP violations in wine shops have been going on for years in Mangaluru.
The same consumer on conditions of anonymity said, that he had earlier brought the MRP violation to the notice of the Excise Commissioner, Manjunath in Mangaluru, about a wine shop in Mallikatte near Kadri Temple arch, for charging more than MRP. The consumer had also sent images of the bill and the product by Whatsapp to the excise official. Since he did not hear anything further from the Excise department, the consumer had brought it to the knowledge of this reporter from NewsKarnataka. When enquired with the Excise Commissioner, Manjunath, he said, “A fine will be levied on wine shops for every offence reported, but a case will be booked only on repeated offences”. When asked whether the wine shop’s license would be cancelled, Manjunath replied that only on repeated violations, such action will be initiated.
Consumers are eager to know that to which department complaints of such MRP violation can be made. What action will be taken on such violations? An official from the Department of Metrology said that his department accepts complaints of MRP violation in sale of any product if submitted with bill and the MRP on the product as proof. The Excise department official states, that even if a consumer send an SMS or makes a phone call and complains about MRP violations in wine shop, action would be taken. He also said that they would send their own people and make the purchase in any outlet against which the complaint is made, and if found violating MRP, notice will be issued and case will be booked against them.
The consumer find it puzzling as to why the excise department does not want the bill or the product from the complainant, which one is ready to submit to them and it is easy for the department to book a case against the violators.
Why such MRP violation allowing the consumers to suffer?
The consumers suggest that, both the Excise department and the Department of Metrology should be transparent in their functioning with handling cases. There should be system to give feedback on complaints, about action taken and the present status.
If only a transparent system is in place, it would act as deterrent to such violation of traders on MRP. That would encourage many more consumers to report such violations and this will remain as a constant check on ill practices in the trade.
As a step in the right direction, the concerned department should encourage such complaints to be made using email. The consumers would have more faith in the system, if there is a response once the complaints are delivered. The action initiated should be reported on a blog along with the fine amount levied from the erring wine shop, retail or whole sale. If the department registers a case and files it before a court, the charges against the violator should be made known on the blog. The department through a blog should intimate the media and the media should report it, which would throw light on the number of convictions in such cases. The absence of a system in receiving complaints is the root cause for such continued MRP violations according to a consumer.
Quoting the case of Kapil Mitra, an advocate who won a legal battle against PVR in New Delhi which was fined for selling drinking water over the MRP, a consumer said that if the government and its concerned departments fail to protect the consumers, then we will also have to approach the consumer court and drag the concerned department and officials to court, he said.
