Jaipur grocery store ordered to pay Rs 10,000 in compensation for rounding off customer's bill by 50 paise

A Jaipur grocery store's decision to round off a customer's bill by 50 paise has proved costly. The Rajasthan State Consumer Disputes Redressal Commission has ruled that a shopkeeper cannot recover even a small amount from a customer by unauthorisedly "rounding off" the bill. Holding the practice to be a deficiency in service and an unfair trade practice, the commission directed the shop to pay the consumer Rs 10,000 as compensation.

What was the case?

The dispute arose after the complainant purchased a 500-gram packet of rajma (red kidney beans) from Parasrampuriya Mart in Jaipur on January 1, 2020. Although the product was priced at Rs 49.50, the shop billed him Rs 50 by adding 50 paise under "round off."

The complainant asked for the excess 50 paise back, but the shopkeeper instead demanded that he produce 50 paise in change. Even after the complainant offered the coins, the shopkeeper allegedly refused to accept them. When the customer then sought to return the rajma packet, he was informed that goods could not be returned once the bill had been generated. He further alleged that the shopkeeper mocked him and behaved rudely.


Claiming that the conduct amounted to an unfair trade practice and deficiency in service, the complainant approached the District Consumer Disputes Redressal Commission-II, Jaipur. He sought Rs 50,000 as compensation along with Rs 10,000 towards litigation expenses.

The shop neither responded to the notice nor filed any reply before the district commission. The commission therefore ordered the shop to refund the excess 50 paise with 9 per cent annual interest, besides paying Rs 15,000 as compensation for mental agony and Rs 5,000 towards complaint expenses, taking the total liability to Rs 20,000.

The shopkeeper challenged this order before the Rajasthan State Consumer Commission.

What did the state commission say?

The bench comprising members Surendra Singh, Mukesh and Jai Gautam noted that the shop had failed to file any reply or produce evidence to rebut the consumer's allegations at any stage of the proceedings.

The commission observed that the legal position is clear that an amount of 50 paise cannot be unauthorisedly recovered from a consumer in this manner by way of rounding off, and upheld the finding that this amounted to deficiency in service and unfair trade practice.

However, it held that the compensation awarded by the district commission was excessive considering the small amount involved in the dispute.

Accordingly, the state commission reduced the compensation to Rs 7,000 for mental agony and Rs 3,000 towards litigation expenses, bringing the total compensation to Rs 10,000. The amount must be paid within two months, failing which it will also carry interest at 9 per cent per annum.