Restaurant owners to be jailed for selling water bottles above MRP, govt tells Supreme Court

Restaurant owners might face a jail term for charging extra moneyon water bottles against the MRP. According to a TV report, the central government has told the Supreme Court that selling bottled mineral water above the maximum retail price (MRP) will attract monetary penalty and imprisonment for the management of restaurants, hotels, bars etc. 

"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.

The Ministry of Consumer Affairs while submitting its affidavit in response to a petition filed by the Federation of Hotel and Restaurant Associations of India (FHRAI) took a stand that overcharging for pre-packed or prepackaged products was an offence under the Legal Metrology Act.

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.

For medical devices like stent, valve, orthopedic implants, syringe, tools, etc, the ministry mentioned, "Consumers at large were facing difficulty as prices of devices were sold according to the paying capacity of the consumer. Even after capping of MRP many companies were not displaying."

Provisions regarding declarations on Food Products have been harmonised with labeling regulations under the Food Safety & Standards Act, 2006.

Information on the packaged should have proper size of letters,  and numerals for making declaration is increased, introduction of e-coding and Bar Code/QR Coding - on voluntarily basis.