NEW DELHI: A Gurugram district consumer commission has held Red Tape guilty of deficiency in service and unfair trade practice after it charged a customer Rs 30 for three carry bags while he was shopping at its outlet. The commission in its order dated August 4, directed the company to refund the amount and pay compensation.Why did the customer approach the consumer commission?According to the commission’s order, the complainant went shopping at the company’s outlet in Gurugram on August 31, 2025, and purchased items worth Rs 4,713.He was charged Rs 30 for three carry bags. The complainant asked for a complimentary carry bag, saying he could not carry the purchased items in his hands, but the request was refused.“Despite the assertion of the complainant for a complimentary carry bag, citing an inability to manually hold and take the purchased items, the OP flatly denied the said request,” the court order reads.He alleged that charging him for the carry bags was illegal and amounted to deficiency in service and unfair trade practice. He then approached the consumer commission.Why did the commission rule against the company?The bench comprising President Sanjeev Jindal and Members Jyoti Siwach and Khushwinder Kaur referred to an earlier National Consumer Commission ruling involving Big Bazaar, which had rejected the argument that customers should pay separately for carry bags or that the bags were being sold on a no-profit, no-loss basis. It noted that large stores take advantage of their position by charging customers for bags.“In the aforesaid citation, it has been further held by the Hon’ble National Commission, New Delhi that if the OP claims itself to be responsible and environmentally conscious, then, they should have given the carry bags to the customers free of cost because in our considered view, the price of the carry bag has generally been included by them in the profit margins of the product(s),” the commission observed.The commission also referred to a State Consumer Commission ruling which held that retailers have a duty to provide free carry bags to customers who purchase articles from their shops. It noted that the Plastic Waste (Management and Handling) Rules, 2011 had been amended and the relevant provision requiring retailers to charge for carry bags had been omitted in 2018.“In this regard, it was also clarified by the Hon’ble State Commission, Chandigarh that the Plastic Waste (Management and Handling) Rules, 2011 had already been amended vide notification dated 18.03.2018 and Rule 15 thereof had also been omitted vide subsequent notification dated 27.03.2018 as well, and further, that as per the current legal position, the OP cannot take the shelter of the said rule which stipulated that ‘no carry bag shall be made available free of cost by retailer to its customers’,” the commission said.The commission further referred to Section 36(5) of the Sale of Goods Act, 1930, which says that, unless otherwise agreed, expenses involved in putting goods into a deliverable state have to be borne by the seller.“Thus, under this provision of law also, all the expenses with regard to packaging etc. shall be borne by the vendor in order to put goods into a deliverable state,” the commission observed.The commission also said that allowing large stores, shopkeepers and vendors to continue charging customers for carry bags could defeat the purpose of the Consumer Protection Act and lead to consumers being charged such amounts regularly.It held the company guilty of deficiency in service and unfair trade practice and directed it to refund Rs 30 for the three carry bags with 9 percent annual interest from August 31, 2025, until payment.The commission also directed the company to pay Rs 15,000 as compensation for mental harassment, pain and agony and Rs 11,000 towards litigation expenses. It directed the company to comply with the order within 45 days, failing which the amount will carry 12 percent annual interest until actual realisation.
