Restaurant penalised for charging Rs.15 extra GST on Mineral Water Bottle

The Sambalpur District Consumer Court penalised a restaurant on VSS Marg in Sambalpur for imposing GST on a packaged drinking water bottle.

According to reports, one Sashank Sekhar Majhi dined at the restaurant a few days ago. However, upon paying the bill, he saw that the mineral water bottle provided by the restaurant was charged at Rs.35, despite the fact that the MRP on the bottle label was Rs.20.

Not only that, but the dinner bill included the water bottle and charged GST on it.

Majhi filed a complaint with the district consumer court, and the court ordered the restaurant to pay the plaintiff Rs.30,000 in compensation for the ‘overcharge’, as well as Rs.10,000 in court charges.

The petitioner’s lawyer, Anil Mishra, stated, “The MRP for the water bottle was Rs.20. And, per the law, the MRP includes GST. A merchant cannot charge GST based on the MRP. The restaurant not only charged Rs.35 for the water bottle, but it also levied GST by putting it in the overall food bill. So, effectively, the restaurant claimed GST on the water bottle twice.”

“The District Consumer Forum heard our case on March 11 and ordered a compensation of Rs.30,000 for the victim,” Mishra said in a statement.