‘Selling packaged water above MRP will invite action’

Sale of packaged water and soft drinks above MRP (Maximum Retail Price) – including at airports, multiplexes and hotels – will attract stringent penal actions like fines and jail term, Consumer Affairs Minister Ram Vilas Paswan said on Friday.

“Charging above MRP is violation of the law. But we still see at airports, multiplex and hotels, that packaged water is sold at more than the MRP. This needs to be stopped,” Paswan said here.

He said packaged drinking water is sold at 10-20 per cent higher rates at these places, while in some cases, MRP is not even written on the water bottle and “soft drinks like Coca Cola are sold in loose at an increased rate”. 

“We have sufficient powers to take action against violators and we will take if consumers file complaints in this regard. There is penalty and even jail term for violators,” Paswan said on the sidelines of an event.