Be A Smart Consumer.

All of us might have purchased one or other type of packaged items from shops. Have you ever spend time to check the correct value of the product. The price printed on the packet is called maximum retail price ( MRP ) and it is the right of all consumers to get a particular item in the same printed price. As a part of weights and measures act of government of India, the MRP should be printed on every packaged commodity by the manufacturer and the retailer doesn’t have any rights to change the printed value. Even though the retailer can sell the product below the printed MRP, they are not allowed to sell it at a higher price than MRP. In case of any violation, the consumer is having the privilege to approach the court to prosecute the seller. Most of the retailers make advantage of many ignorant consumers by selling their products at a higher rate. In some particular occasions, some of the retailers take advantage of selling the commodity at higher rate and is punishable as per the act. For example, the price of the products in a shop in an isolated area is likely to be higher than MRP and there is no way for the consumers other than paying the amount as there will not be any other shop nearby. Even then the consumer is having all the rights to file consumer case against such shops

Today’s version of MRP was adapted in December 1990. Earlier the manufacturer had the option of printing the price of their commodities in two ways. The first option was that they can print the retail price and the local taxes separately. And according to the second option maximum retail price, inclusive of all taxes is printed on the cover.At that time there were many consumer complaints that merchants were over-charging by adding additional local taxes on product. This led to the new rule regarding MRP in 1990. This rule was made to end the complaints and confusion of over charging for products. The change was made by the Ministry of Civil Supplies and the Department of Legal Metrology.

If a seller is trying to charge more than the MRP, it is the right of the consumers to question it. A consumer should never compromise on hearing any explanation given by the seller regarding this.The consumers should always try to obtain full information regarding quality and price before making any purchases, especially for costly items. Most of the shopkeepers are very tricky and they may try to influence the consumers, and hence one should not blindly believe what a seller says about a product. The consumers should be very careful about false or misleading advertisement. Most of the time cheating happens when you are doing your shopping in a hurry. So it is better to avoid shopping in a hurried manner. The consumers can file a complaint with the District Forum if they feel that they have been over-charged for any packaged product. Since hotels and restaurants are not covered under the MRP act, they can sell a product even at a higher price than MRP.