NewzVille Desk
The Central Consumer Protection Authority (CCPA) has imposed a penalty of ₹2,00,000on on FirstCry (Digital Age Retail Pvt. Ltd.) for false and misleading price representations. The order has been passed under Sections 10, 20 and 21 of the Consumer Protection Act, 2019.
CCPA issued order against FirstCry for publishing misleading advertisements and engaging in unfair trade practices on its e-commerce platform.
The matter arose from a consumer complaint that FirstCry displayed products with the representation “MRP inclusive of all taxes,” while at the checkout stage, an additional GST was levied on the discounted price. This created a misleading impression of higher discounts and misled consumers about the final payable amount.
The investigation supported by data from the National Consumer Helpline (NCH), showed that the practice of advertising discounts on the MRP but separately charging GST on the discounted price significantly reduced the benefit to consumers.
For example, products advertised with a 27% discount were effectively sold at only an 18.2% discount after GST was applied. Such representations were found to amount to deceptive pricing, misleading advertisements under Section 2(28), and unfair trade practices under Section 2(47) of the Consumer Protection Act, 2019.
