An Rs 18 carry bag on a bill of Rs 1,435 has failed to make out an unfair trade practice, with the Uttarakhand State Consumer Commission holding that no law requires shopkeepers to give free carry bags and that the customer bought the bag of his own will.
Dehradun: A customer who accused Vishal Mega Mart of unfair trade practice for charging Rs 18 for a shopping bag has lost his appeal before the State Consumer Disputes Redressal Commission, Uttarakhand, which held that there is no law requiring a store to supply free carry bags [Dr. Ramesh Singh Danu v. Vishal Mega Mart].
President Kumkum Rani, who authored the order, and Member B.S. Manral constituted the Bench. The order in Appeal No. SC/5/A/25/2024 was pronounced on October 30, 2026.
A bag bought of free will
Nothing in the complaint, the Commission noted, alleged any compulsion by the store staff, and there was no mention of a protest at the billing counter. On that footing it found the purchase of the bag to be voluntary.
“If the complainant was not willing to purchase the carry bag, there was no compulsion upon him to have purchase the same and he should have taken the goods purchased by him at the Store, on his own arrangement.”
The customer, it added, could also have chosen not to buy the goods at all, but “made the decision to purchase the carry bag consciously and out of his free will and consent.”
Why the Big Bazaar ruling did not help
The appellant leaned on the National Consumer Disputes Redressal Commission’s decision in Revision Petition No. 975 of 2020, Big Bazaar (Future Retail Ltd.) v. Sahil Dawar, which held that levying an extra charge for carry bags at the payment counter without prominent prior notice is an unfair trade practice. The State Commission found the ruling inapplicable: the store had pleaded specific display of bag prices, and the customer had not claimed that he was unaware of the charge or misled.
“It is also not the case of the complainant that he was not made aware that he would be charged for the cost of carry bag or that he was misrepresented in any way by the Store Executive at the billing counter. It is also well settled that the shopkeeper is under no obligation to supply carry bags and that too, without any cost and there is no law which mandates providing free carry bag to the customer.”
The bill at Almora
The dispute dates to January 18, 2023, when Dr. Ramesh Singh Danu bought goods worth Rs 1,435 at the Vishal Mega Mart store on L.R. Shah Road, Almora. The bill carried Rs 18 for a shopping bag. A legal notice followed on January 27, 2023, and, with no relief forthcoming, he filed a consumer complaint alleging unfair trade practice.
Before the District Commission, the store said the cashier had told him the prices of different carry bags and his option to use his own bag, and that notices about bag prices were displayed at the billing counter and across the store. It said he chose to buy a bag worth Rs 18 and that no law mandates free carry bags. The District Consumer Disputes Redressal Commission, Almora, dismissed the complaint on August 22, 2024, and the customer appealed under Section 41 of the Consumer Protection Act, 2019.
Appeal dismissed, no costs
Calling the District Commission “completely justified” in dismissing the complaint, the State Commission dismissed the appeal with no order as to costs. Copies of the order were to be supplied to the parties free of cost and sent to the District Commission.
What the order leaves for shops and shoppers
Consumer fora have not spoken with one voice on carry bag charges, and several commissions have penalised retailers under the Big Bazaar principle. This order draws the line on the facts: the decisive question is not whether a bag was charged for, but whether the customer had prior notice of the charge and a real choice to decline it.
A consumer bringing such a complaint must therefore plead the absence of notice, compulsion or misrepresentation. A retailer, in turn, keeps the charge outside the definition of an unfair trade practice by displaying bag prices clearly and letting customers bring their own bag.
Case Title: Dr. Ramesh Singh Danu v. Vishal Mega Mart
Case No.: Appeal No. SC/5/A/25/2024
Bench: Kumkum Rani (President) and B.S. Manral (Member), State Consumer Disputes Redressal Commission, Uttarakhand, Dehradun
Date of Order: October 30, 2026
Appearances: Advocate Chandra Kala for the appellant; Advocate Rahul Gupta for Vishal Mega Mart