Are you shopping at Myntra.com? Have your ever checked your bill?

Are you shopping at https://www.myntra.com/ ?  Have you ever checked your bill?

It has come to the notice that www.myntra.com has been selling the products online by announcing the sales discount and sales discount has not become part and parcel of marketing activities. However, it is also adapting to unfair business practicse as surprisingly myntra.com seems to be flouting the regulations concerning MRP. 

Maximum Retial Prices (MRP) are always inclusive of sales tax and all other charges and as per rules, no product can be sold at a price higher than MRP. It is seen that Myntra.com is charging VAT on the MRP without looking into the fact that the prices after the discount on MRP are also inclusive of VAT and other charges. This is illustrated as below from an invoice raised by myntra.com

Invoice No. INV_1503073779_29 dtd. 17/05/2017

1. MRP:                               Rs. 2199.00
  Break up for the purpose of VAT calculation     
             i) Basic Price            : Rs. 2,089.31
             ii) VAT @5.25%       : Rs. 109.69
             iii) Total                    : Rs. 2,199.00

2. 50% Discounts on MRP:  1,099.50
     Since the MRP of Rs. 2,199.00 is inclusive of VAT, any discount offered on MRP shall also become inclusive of VAT in that proportion. Therefore the 50% of MRP shall also be inclusive of VAT on proportionate basis. Therefore
         i) Basic Price                 : Rs. 1,044.66
        ii) VAT                            : Rs.      54.84
        iii) Total                          : Rs. 1,099.50

As explained above, the price of Rs. 1,099.50 is already inclusive of VAT at the rate of Rs. 54.84. Surprisingly, myntra.com has charged an additional amount of Rs. 57.72 as VAT making the total sales value as Rs. 1157.22. This amounts to charging of VAT two times and therefore the additional charging of Rs. 57.72 is unethical. One of the VAT which is already included in the price seems to be getting siphoned off and the business practices adapted by the company are not only unethical but also amounting to evasion of taxes. 

A copy of this article is being mailed to myntra.com to enable them to submit their views on the article for the general awareness of the consumers. It is expected that myntra.com would adapt ethical business practices and would come forward in making refund to the consumers on its own as most of the shopping by the consumers is online wherein the payments generally are made through debit cards, credit cards and internet banking. Hence tracing back the consumers account is not difficult. Whatever the additional amount is left untraceable to the consumers is transferred to the Govt. of India appropriately.