A Biscuit That Cost ITC Rs 1 Lakh

A district consumer forum in Tamil Nadu recently ordered ITC Ltd. to pay Rs 1 lakh to an aggrieved consumer who received one less biscuit in his Sunfeast Marie Light pack.

The company only packed 15 biscuits in a packet that was advertised to contain 16 biscuits. This, according to the court, constitutes a deficiency in the product and must be adequately compensated.

In the present case, Dillibabu, a resident of Chennai, purchased around 25 packets of Sunfeast biscuits to feed stray animals from a vendor in Manali. However, once he opened the packets, he was shocked to find that there were only 15 biscuits when the advertisement clearly said 16 units. He approached ITC and the vendor for an explanation after becoming upset about the deficiencies. However, rather than addressing the concern, they instead taunted the consumer for being petty about Rs 10 as if he had been cheated out of Rs 10 crore. This brought him to the district consumer forum.

In his submissions, he pointed out certain key numbers that show the extent of cheating. A biscuit, as per his calculations, cost Rs 0.75. On a daily basis, the company produces 50 lakh packets, which means it cheats more than Rs 29 lakh from its consumers every day.

The company, however, defended its position by saying that the biscuits were sold on the basis of weight and not quantity. The packet was, however, short of the quantity mentioned. Instead of the 76 gram mentioned in the packets, they only had 74 gram. To this end, ITC's counsel said that an error of 4.5 gms is permissible as per the Legal Metrology Act.

The court, however, refused to accept ITC's arguments. According to the court, a defence of error is only available for goods that tend to reduce in weight over the course of time. Since biscuits don't fall under that category, such a defense cannot be claimed. The court further refused to accept the argument that the product was sold based on weight and not quantity. Since the wrapper clearly highlighted the number and is capable of influencing consumer buying decisions, such an argument cannot be accepted, the court held.

In light of the findings, the court ordered ITC to pay Rs 1 lakh to Dillibabu. Litigation costs amounting to Rs 10,000 should also be paid above such compensation. Further, ITC is also directed to discontinue the sale of the deficient batch of biscuits.