Jaipur: District Consumer Disputes Redressal Commission in Kota Monday issued notices to Gillette India Ltd and its senior officials on a complaint alleging that the company charges women four to five times more than men for razors despite offering products with similar functionality.The complaint, filed by Shipra Mathur, has alleged discriminatory pricing, commonly known as the ‘pink tax’, and unfair trade practices under the Consumer Protection Act, 2019. The commission issued notices to Gillette India Ltd, its CEO and managing director Kumar Venkatasubramanian, chairperson Anjuly Chib Duggal and director Sanjay Asher, besides other concerned company officials and directors.All respondents have to reply to the notices by Dec 16.According to the complaint, Mathur purchased two Gillette razors from a retail outlet in Kota on Sept 25, 2026. “One was a regular men’s razor, while the other was marketed specifically for women. Despite serving essentially the same purpose, the women’s variant was priced four to five times higher,” said counsel for the petitioner, Inder Mohan Singh. He added that this amounts to an unfair trade practice of misleading representation under section 2(47) of the Consumer Protection Act, 2019.The complainant contended that changing a product’s colour and marketing it specifically for women cannot justify such a substantial price difference. “We have sought directions to the company to stop discriminatory pricing and ensure transparency, besides claiming Rs 50,000 as compensation for mental harassment and financial loss and reimbursement of litigation expenses,” Singh added.
