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TMI Blog2020 (1) TMI 1574X X X X Extracts X X X X X X X X Extracts X X X X ..... industrial use may not be able to supply the goods directly. Therefore, they may take the assistance of a stockiest. If the customers are spread over the country and if the manufacturing unit is in one part of the country and they want to concentrate on manufacturing activity, they may not have resource or ability to arrange for the sale of their product through out the country. In these circumstances, it is quite but natural that they need middle men or stockiest as distributors, through whom they would distribute their product or sell their products to an industrial or institutional user. In such an event, that packaged commodity cannot be construed as a retail package - After deleting Rule 34(a), in the very definition of retail package , the legislature while defining the meaning of ultimate consumer to whom a retail package is meant, excluded institutional or industrial consumer. Thus, it is clear that the protection under this Act is confined only to individuals and persons who are eking out livelihood by self employment and not to institutional and industrial consumers or consumers who purchase goods in large quantities. In the present case, respondent No.1 is a manufacturer ..... X X X X Extracts X X X X X X X X Extracts X X X X ..... trained in the specialized "Eutectic Castolin Welding Process". These sales/service engineers meet the technical personnel of the industrial units and ascertain their requirements for reconditioning, remaking, rejuvenation and restoration of the machinery or equipment and accordingly advise them with reference to the quantities and types of the welding products required, the nature of the processes to be adopted for reconditioning/restoration of the machinery or equipment etc., In case of the leading industrial units, respondent No.2 itself carries out the welding process by employing trained service engineers. The sales personnel of respondent No.2 also identify contractors who are trained for carrying out the special processes of reconditioning etc. and engage them for that purpose. 4. The case of the respondents is that these welding electrode products were seized from the premises of the stockiest of respondent No.2 by the appellant No.2 alleging that address of the manufacturer or packer and MRP have not been marked on such packages as required under the Standards of Weights and Measures (Package Commodities) Rules, 1977 (for short 'the PC Rules'). The respondents were receiv ..... X X X X Extracts X X X X X X X X Extracts X X X X ..... oduction, etc., as produced in Rule 2- A(b). They further contended that the packages in question seized by the appellants are retail packages and the process involved is retail sale and the notice issued by the appellants are just and legal and the same is as per law and the respondents have failed to comply with the provisions of the Act and Rules. Therefore, no case for striking down the provisions of the Act nor for quashing the impugned notice is made out and sought for dismissal of the writ petition. 6. The respondents have filed a rejoinder stating the definition of 'consumer', 'consumer product', 'consumer goods' as defined in the dictionary. They further submitted that Rules apply to goods used by the consumers and not to those used by institutions or industries. The product of the respondents are not meant to be used in households. They are used in engineers and contractors. They go by the technical parameters before purchasing the goods. Being non-consumer goods, the products manufactured and sold by the respondents are not within the purview of P.C. Rules. Since ordinary consumer goods are sold by weight, volume or other measure in packed condition, certain information ..... X X X X Extracts X X X X X X X X Extracts X X X X ..... tains such goods for resale or for any commercial purpose. The consumer should be an individual who purchases goods for his personal use. Reseller of goods or purchaser of goods for any commercial purpose is not treated as consumer. Therefore, when the word 'consumer' is not defined under the Act and Consumer Protection Act was enacted to protect the interest of consumer whose interest is not sufficiently protected under the Act. 10. As per Rule 6 of the Rules which prescribes the declaration to be made on every package makes it clear that one of the requirement, which a package should contain is common generic names of the commodity contained in the package, as contained in Rule 6(1)(b). 11. The learned single Judge considering the definitions of 'retail package', 'retail sale', 'retail sale price' and considering Clause (a) of Rule 34 of the Rules held that Rule 34 expressly exclude the application of Rule 6 to any package containing a commodity if the making on the package unambiguously indicates that it has been specially packed for the exclusive use of any industry as a raw material or for the purpose of servicing any industry, mine or quarry. The packages meant for industry ..... X X X X Extracts X X X X X X X X Extracts X X X X
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