What the law says about MRP
Under the Legal Metrology (Packaged Commodities) Rules, 2011, the retail sale price is "the maximum price at which the commodity in packaged form may be sold to the consumer inclusive of all taxes" (rule 2(m)); the package must say it is the maximum retail price inclusive of all taxes (rule 6); and no retailer, wholesaler, manufacturer, packer or importer may sell a packaged commodity above it (rule 18(2)). Selling below MRP is allowed — it is a maximum.
Taking the tax out — never adding it back
Tax inside the price = price × rate ÷ (100 + rate)
Price before tax = price × 100 ÷ (100 + rate)
The classic mistake is to work out the pre-tax price, round it, and then add the tax back on: the rounding error lands on the customer's bill, and a ₹40 item bills ₹40.01. Always start from the tax-inclusive price and take the tax out of it.
Example
An item with a ₹40 MRP taxed at 5%: the tax inside is ₹40 × 5 ÷ 105 = ₹1.90, so the price before tax is ₹38.10 and the bill says ₹40. Building it up instead — ₹38.10 plus 5% is ₹40.005 — rounds to ₹40.01, one paisa over the MRP.
At 18%, a ₹118 price holds ₹18 of tax on ₹100.
How Nivasik handles it
- A tax-inclusive line is taken apart, never built up: the line keeps the price the customer sees and the tax comes out of it, so a ₹40 MRP item bills ₹40.
- MRP is a hard ceiling on every line, for every login.
- An item can be priced at its MRP, as a percentage on what it cost, or as a fixed amount on what it cost.