How many times have you checked the weight or number of pieces on the wrapper of any food you bought? Not many, or probably rarely! Many times, it happens that the inside content of a food item does not match the weight or number mentioned on the packet. Well, what did you do about it? Ignored? Well, ITC has been ordered to pay a Chennai man ₹1 lakh after the biscuit packet had one less biscuit.
ITC Pays Chennai Man ₹1 Lakh
ITC Limited has been ordered to pay the consumer ₹1 lakh for packaging one fewer biscuit than stated on a Sunfeast Marie Light packet.
When P Dillibabu, a resident of Chennai, purchased a package of ITC’s Sunfeast Marie Light biscuits to give to stray dogs, the story of the missing biscuit began to take shape. The buyer noticed that although the wrapper said there were 16 biscuits inside, there were actually only 15 biscuits there.
According to the Times of India, Dillibabu asked his neighborhood store and ITC for an explanation but did not get a satisfactory response.
He complained to a consumer court, mentioning the price as 75 paise per biscuit. In his complaint, he said that ITC produces 50 lakh biscuit packs daily. According to these figures, the firm defrauds customers daily of ₹29 lakh.
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Biscuits Do Not Lose Weight Gradually
ITC contended that biscuit sales are dependent on weight rather than quantity. Each package of Sunfeast Marie Light is marked with its net weight, which is 76 grams. The court discovered that each pack of 15 biscuits weighed just 74 grams.
The Legal Metrology Rules of 2011 permitted a maximum disparity of 4.5 grams in pre-packaged goods, the ITC continued. The court, however, dismissed this argument, stating that such exemptions only apply to volatile products. Since biscuits do not gradually lose weight, the rule does not apply to them.
Additionally, the claim that biscuits were marketed based on weight rather than quantity was rejected because ITC indicated 16 biscuits on the wrapper. (As per Money Control)
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Cover Image Courtesy: Canva