NEW DELHI: The Rajasthan state consumer commission has upheld that a shopkeeper cannot charge a customer extra by simply "rounding off" a bill, even if the excess amount is as small as 50 paise.

The commission held a shopkeeper liable for deficiency in service and unfair trade practices and directed them to pay Rs 10,000 to the customer.What was the case?The complainant bought a 500-gram packet of rajma (red kidney beans) from Parasrampuriya Mart in Jaipur on 1 January 2020. The shop billed him Rs 50, but when he checked the bill, he found that the actual price of the product was Rs 49.50, with an extra 50 paise added as "round off."When he asked for his money back, the shopkeeper asked him for 50 paise in change instead. The complainant offered the change, but the shopkeeper refused to accept it. When he then asked to return the rajma packet altogether, he was told that goods could not be returned once the bill has been generated. The complainant also alleged that the shopkeeper mocked him and behaved rudely.Aggrieved by this, the complainant approached the District Consumer Disputes Redressal Commission-II, Jaipur, calling this unfair trade practice and deficiency in service, and sought Rs 50,000 in compensation along with Rs 10,000 for complaint expenses.

Since the shop did not respond to the notice or file any reply, the district commission ordered the shop to refund the 50 paise with 9 per cent annual interest, and pay Rs 15,000 as compensation for mental agony plus Rs 5,000 in complaint expenses — a total of Rs 20,000.The shop then challenged the order in the state consumer commission.What did the state commission say?The bench comprising members Surendra Singh, Mukesh, and Jai Gautam, noted that the shop had never filed a reply or any evidence to counter the allegation at any stage.The commission observed that the legal position is clear that an amount of 50 paise cannot be unauthorisedly recovered from a consumer in this manner by way of rounding off, and upheld the finding that this amounted to deficiency in service and unfair trade practice.However, the commission found the compensation awarded by the lower court was too high given the trivial amount involved.The commission accordingly reduced the compensation to Rs 7,000 for mental agony and Rs 3,000 for complaint expenses, bringing the total to Rs 10,000, to be paid within two months. If not paid in time, the shop will have to pay 9 per cent annual interest on this amount as well.