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When you buy pre-packed goods, do you really get the quantity that you pay for or that declared on the package? Recently, Ahmedabad-based consumer group, Consumer Education and Research Society (CERS), tested 13 brands of hair oil and found 11 of them to weigh less than the declared weight. While with eight of the brands, the loss to the consumer was in the range of six paise to 48 paise per bottle (declared weight 100 ml), in respect of two brands, the loss was as much as Rs 1.20 and Rs 1.43 per bottle. Similarly, a few months ago, CERS checked the weight of 20 brands of bread and found four brands selling much less than claimed. These are not isolated cases. Earlier too, tests on 60 brands of edible oils found many of them weighing less than that marked on the package. Under the Standards of Weights and Measures (Packaged Commodities) Rules, all pre-packed goods have to mention the net weight of the contents. And if the weight is less than what is marked, the manufacturer or the packer is liable for prosecution under the Act. However, the law provides for a maximum permissible error in the net quantity. While in the case of bread, the maximum permissible error is 8 per cent of the declared weight of 400 gm and 6 per cent for packages weighing between 400 to 800 gm, in the case of tea, the maximum permissible error is 2 per cent of the declared weight. In the case of hair oil, the maximum permissible error is 4.5 ml for 50-100 ml packs. The Union Ministry of Consumer Affairs is reviewing the percentage of permitted error in case of different commodities and reducing the margin of error accorded to manufacturers. In the case of edible oil, it has been brought down from 1.5 per cent, the maximum permissible error for packages of one to two kg to 0.75 per cent. For two to four kg packages, it is 0.6 per cent and 0.3 per cent for packages weighing more than four kg. This will come to effect from March 1 this year. Under the Consumer Protection Act, any shortcoming in the quantity of goods sold constitutes a defect in the product and a consumer can seek appropriate relief through the consumer forums constituted under the Act. Whenever consumers come across packages weighing less than the declared weight beyond the permissible limit, they must file a case before the consumer court and force the manufacturer to withdraw the entire batch. They must also calculate the combined loss to the consumer as a result of such underweight packages. Today, not just branded
goods are being sold in packages. Even household provisions such as
rice, dal and spices are routinely packed and sold by retailers. Since
these are not weighed at the time of purchase, a retailer may be tempted
to sell less than what is declared. Resident associations should check
the weight of the packages sold by retailers in the area at regular
intervals and boycott those retailers found cheating on weight. |
