Hotels & Restaurants can charge in excess of MRP: HC
AIT News Network
NEW DELHI. Vide a significant ruling AIT-2007-102-HC the High Court has ruled that charging prices for mineral water in excess of MRP printed on the packaging, during the service of customers in hotels and restaurants does not violate any of the provisions of the Act as this does not constitute a sale or transfer of these commodities by the hotelier or Restaurateur to its customers. The customer does not enter a hotel or a restaurant to make a simple purchase of these commodities. It may well be that a client would order nothing beyond a bottle of water or a beverage, but his direct purpose in doing so would clearly travel to enjoying the ambience available therein and incidentally to the ordering of any article for consumption. Can there by any justifiable reason for the Court or Commission to interdict the sale of bottled mineral water other than at a certain price, and ignore the relatively exorbitant charge for a cup of tea or coffee.
The question that arose in the Bunch of Petitions was whether it is impermissible for the Petitioners to charge their customers/guests the any price above the maximum retail price (MRP) mentioned on mineral-water packaged and bottled by third parties ( Click here for full text of ruling AIT-2007-102-HC )