In a significant ruling underscoring consumer rights, Bhopal’s District Consumer Disputes Redressal Forum has directed a restaurant to pay ₹8,000 in compensation for wrongfully charging ₹1 as Goods and Services Tax (GST) on a bottled water purchase.
The case stems from an incident in October 2021 when complainant Aishwarya visited a restaurant in Bhopal with friends. Upon receiving the bill, he noticed that a water bottle, which carried a printed Maximum Retail Price (MRP) of ₹20, was billed at ₹29 — ₹9 above MRP, including ₹1 as GST.
When Aishwarya questioned the discrepancy, restaurant staff maintained that the billing was lawful, citing in-house service provisions, and refused to issue a refund. Unconvinced, Aishwarya filed a formal complaint with the consumer forum.
During the proceedings, Aishwarya’s counsel, Advocate Pratik Pawar, argued that the restaurant charged above the MRP in violation of established pricing norms. He emphasized that bottled water is a pre-packaged commodity and its MRP already includes applicable taxes, including GST.
The restaurant, in its defence, claimed that the extra charge was justified due to the additional services provided — including seating, air conditioning, and on-table service. However, the consumer forum rejected this argument outright.
Relying on the principle that GST is inclusive in the printed MRP for packaged goods like bottled water, the forum held that charging an additional ₹1 as GST amounted to a deficiency in service and an unfair trade practice.
In its order, the forum instructed the restaurant to:
- Refund the wrongly charged ₹1,
- Pay ₹5,000 for mental agony and inconvenience caused to the complainant, and
- Reimburse ₹3,000 towards litigation costs.
The total compensation awarded stood at ₹8,000.
