Packaged Commodities Rules do not govern beer served in a licensed hotel bar as part of an indivisible service transaction.

Rule 18(2) of the Legal Metrology (Packaged Commodities) Rules, 2011 applies to retail sale of packaged commodities to the ultimate consumer. Beer served in an FL-3 licensed hotel bar within the premises was treated as part of an indivisible service transaction, not a retail sale of the packed commodity for removal or consumption as a retail buyer. As the packaged-commodities regime was held inapplicable to such hotel service transactions, charging above the printed MRP did not attract the penal provisions under the Legal Metrology framework, and the prosecution was liable to be quashed.

---

---

Issues: Whether charging a price above the MRP for beer served in an FL-3 licensed hotel bar constitutes a retail sale attracting Rule 18(2) of the Legal Metrology (Packaged Commodities) Rules, 2011 and whether the prosecution based on such allegation is sustainable.

Analysis: The statutory scheme of Section 18 of the Legal Metrology Act, 2009 and Rule 18(2) of the Legal Metrology (Packaged Commodities) Rules, 2011 applies to retail sale of packed commodities. The Rules define retail dealer, retail sale and retail sale price in relation to commodities sold in packaged form to the ultimate consumer. A hotel operating under an FL-3 licence does not conduct a retail sale of liquor in the ordinary sense when liquor is served within the licensed premises as part of hotel service. The bill is for an indivisible service transaction in which liquor, meals and allied amenities are supplied incidentally to the service rendered, and the customer is not purchasing the packaged commodity for removal or consumption as a retail buyer. The chapter governing packaged commodities intended for retail sale therefore has no application to such service transactions.

Conclusion: Charging more than the printed MRP for beer served in the licensed hotel bar did not amount to a retail sale attracting the penal provisions of the Legal Metrology (Packaged Commodities) Rules, 2011, and the prosecution was liable to be quashed.

---