The humble carry bag, a basic necessity, has of late become a chargeable article, at some stores, much to my chagrin. A carry bag really, is an accessory the store needs to provide to complete the customer’s shopping experience and there is nothing more irksome than to be told at the end of your shopping, that you need to pay for the bag to carry your purchase.
Hence, it was heartening to read a report in the TOI last week, on how a few customers have decided to take some of these stores to the consumer court. Last month, a Delhi consumer court directed Reliance Trends to pay Rs 3,000 for charging a customer Rs 7 for a carry bag. Similarly, a consumer court in Bengaluru directed furniture brand Ikea, on October 4, to pay a fine of Rs 3,000 for charging Rs 20 for a carry bag.
As per the rules, no brand, retailer or shopkeeper can charge consumers for plastic/paper/cloth carry bags that have their logo. Brands cannot treat consumers as their unwitting advertisement agents.
The root of this practice lies in the Plastic Waste (Management and Handling) Rules, 2011, brought out by the Union Ministry of Environment and Forests that mandated shopkeepers to provide only those plastic bags that conformed with the prescribed standards. The Rule said, “No carry bags shall be made available free of cost by retailers to consumers”.
Thankfully now Rule 15 of the Plastic Waste Management (Amended) Rules, 2018, which pertained to explicit pricing of plastic bags, has been omitted. Hence, vendors and retailers are not supposed to put a price tag on bags. “If any brand does, the consumer has the right to file a complaint in a consumer forum under Section 12 of the Consumer Protection Act, 1986, read with Section 2(1)(R) for unfair trade practices,” said Sanjay Sharma, a practising advocate in Delhi, in his interview to TOI.
However, in case the bag has no branding, the store can charge you for the same. So, Jago Grahak Jago! Next time a store asks you to pay for their branded bag, refuse to pay.
