Mohali: Pizza Hut overcharges for soft drink, fined Rs 2 lakh

Tribune News Service

Mohali, January 6

The District Consumer Disputes Redressal Commission has imposed a fine of Rs 2 lakh on Pizza Hut, Devyani International Ltd, Mohali (opposite party), for overcharging a resident of Mohali Rs 25 over and above the market price of Rs 35 for a Pepsi pet bottle.

The commission’s president, Sanjiv Dutt Sharma, in his order also directed the opposite party (OP) to pay a compensation of Rs10,000 to the consumer. Heavy punitive damages of Rs 2 lakh are imposed on the OP to prevent it from indulging in such types of malpractices, the order said.

Raghubir Singh, a resident of Sector 71, Mohali, in his complainant had stated that on October 3, 2017, he, along with his friend, visited the OP and purchased a Pepsi pet bottle along with a double cheese Pan-Med Pizza. The OP issued an invoice of Rs290. He alleged that he was shocked to see that the OP had charged Rs60 for one bottle of Pepsi pet which was available for an MRP of Rs35 in the market.

Alleging deficiency in service, he sought the refund of Rs25 charged extra on the Pepsi bottle and Rs70,000 for unfair trade practice, also Rs25,000 towards litigation charges.

The counsel for the OP averred that his client was procuring bottles directly from the manufacturer with an MRP, which is different from the MRP printed on the same product available in the open market. He further averred that the one labelled as “for sale at select channels” is meant for customers visiting specific restaurants with all amenities and facilities being available to them. The consumer is very well aware of the MRP of the product before buying it.

It was further averred that in the absence of any law prohibiting the differential pricing, a trader/manufacturer was free to fix different MRPs even for the same product.

The commission observed, “There cannot be two MRPs for the same product. Though we cannot pass any order against the company who manufactured the product and put two different MRPs to give benefit to the OP, at least we can stop this practice in the market.”