Peshawar court rules Rs30 charge for branded shopping bags illegal

PESHAWAR: A consumer court in Peshawar ruled on Thursday that charging customers for shopping bags bearing a brand’s logo amounts to an unfair commercial practice and is illegal.

The court issued a written decision in a case filed by a woman who purchased clothing from a well-known brand in Peshawar.

According to the decision, the company charged the woman Rs30 for a shopping bag carrying its brand logo.

The woman approached the court under the Khyber-Pakhtunkhwa Consumer Protection Act, stating that she had been forced to pay for a bag carrying the company’s advertisement and logo.

She argued that the brand’s practice of charging customers for such bags was illegal.

The company, however, maintained that it was not legally bound to provide shopping bags to customers free of charge and that bags were provided to customers upon specific request.

The court ruled that using shopping bags carrying a company’s logo and advertisement amounted to advertising by the company.

It further held that recovering the cost of such advertising from ordinary consumers constituted an unfair commercial practice.

The court ordered the company to refund the Rs30 unlawfully charged for the shopping bag to the woman.

It also directed the company to pay Rs25,000 in compensation to the applicant for mental distress and as damages.

In addition, the court imposed a Rs25,000 fine on the brand, directing that the amount be deposited in the government treasury.