Swiggy fined Rs 20,000 for charging Haryana man Rs 4 GST over MRP of soft drinks

Food delivery giant Swiggy was slapped with a fine of Rs 20,000 by the District Consumer Disputes Redressal Commission at Panchkula after it imposed Rs 4.50 as GST over and above the MRP of soft drinks ordered by a customer. 

The matter pertained to a case filed by Abhishek Garg who had ordered food from La Pino’z Pizza in 2018. His order included-- cheesy garlic sticks worth Rs 144 and three Coca-Cola bottles of 500ml at Rs 30 each for Rs 90. After paying the amount, Abhishek realized that he was charged Rs 4.50 as GST for the soft drinks though he was already paying the maximum retail price (MRP) for the bottles. Charges above MRP are deemed illegal as per the Consumer Goods (Mandatory Printing of Cost of Production and Maximum Retail Price) Act, 2006. 

When he brought the matter to the attention of Swiggy through Twitter, the food delivery platform accepted the charges but argued that it was only an intermediary. A similar stance was taken by the platform when the matter reached the Consumer court. Here Swiggy contended that there had been no deficiency in its services as all the applicable taxes on the bill are charged by the merchant, the app is only responsible for collecting the payment.

Consumer Court holds Swiggy guilty

However, the District Consumer Disputes Redressal Commission in Haryana held Swiggy guilty of unfair and deficient services and noted that 'it is certainly not a charitable organisation' which provides service to its customers, without any consideration. It held that the platform was responsible for being a link between the buyer and seller and collected orders from consumers and forwarded those to the seller/vendor concerned.

A fine of Rs 20,000 was imposed on Swiggy. Out of the total penalty, Rs 10,000 will be deposited with the Haryana State Council for Child Welfare, while the remaining Rs 10,000 will go towards mental agony, harassment, and litigation charges of the customer who filed the case. Additionally, Swiggy has been asked to refund Rs 4.50 GST with interest at 9% per annum, with effect from the date of filing of the complaint.