The Supreme Court on Monday admitted an appeal against the order of the National Consumer Commission, which had imposed restrictions on charging interest at rates in excess of 30 per cent from credit card-holders.
The Indian Banks’ Association, Standard Chartered Bank, HSBC and Citibank had appealed against the order. The banks said that they were following the guidelines of the Reserve Bank of India, which was the only authority to regulate interest rates, and, therefore, the commission had no jurisdiction.
On the contrary, a consumer group, Awaz, argued before the court that the commission had failed to notice that the banks were charging more than 90 per cent if one took into account the interest on default combined with the hidden costs.
The prevailing interest even for unsecured finance, fixed under the Money Lenders’ Act, was below 20 per cent, the petitioner had argued.
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