Chandigarh: Collecting Rs 167 as GST (goods and services tax) on discounted retail price has cost online shopping portal Myntra Designs Rs 2 lakh. The district consumer disputes redressal forum has found it guilty of overcharging customer Ravi Inder Singh of Sector 43.

The company must deposit Rs 1.50 lakh into the Poor Patient Welfare Fund of the Post Graduate Institute of Medical Education and Research (PGIMER), Chandigarh, and another Rs 50,000 into the consumer legal aid account at the State Bank of India, Sector 7-C, in the name of state commission secretary. The portal itself had offered that discount.

 

On September 27, 2018, Ravi Inder Singh had shopped online for a women’s sweater listed at Rs 1,999, inclusive of all taxes. After discounting Rs 600, the company asked him to pay Rs 1,566 in cash in Chandigarh. But the bill he received carried additional charges of Rs 167 as GST. Accusing Myntra of deficiency in service and unfair trade practice, he filed a complaint. As Myntra failed to appear before the forum, the latter prepared to deliver its verdict ex parte. Then Rohit Kumar appeared as company’s advocate at the time of arguments.

 

Companies have no right to charge people extra GST or VAT (value-added tax) on the MRP (maximum retail price), which is inclusive of all taxes. Still, they keep flouting the forum’s previous orders on this subject. The forum observed that Myntra’s charging extra GST on the discounted MRP was an unscrupulous and unfair trade practice amounting to deficiency in service, and “making a refund cannot undo this unfair trade practice.”

 

Myntra must refund Rs 168 charged illegally as GST and pay Rs 1,100 to the complainant as compensation for deficient service, mental agony, and harassment that the customer had to bear. The portal will also have to pay him Rs 1,000 as the cost of litigation.

 

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The rule, the situation

 

Companies have no right to charge people extra GST (goods and services tax) or VAT (value-added tax) on the MRP (maximum retail price), which is inclusive of all taxes

 

Charging extra GST on the discounted MRP is an unscrupulous and unfair trade practice amounting to deficiency in service

 

Making a refund to the customer cannot undo this unfair trade practice

 

Published On : 27-05-2019

 

Source : The Economic Times