GST rate cuts: Finance Ministry to track impact on consumer prices for six months
Srinagar, Sept 11: The Union Finance Ministry’s Revenue Department has directed its field officers to compile monthly data on commodity prices before and after the new rates take effect on September 22, amid concerns that recent Goods and Services Tax (GST) rate cuts may not be fully passed on to consumers.
According to reports, in a letter to principal chief commissioners and chief commissioners of central GST zones, the department has sought commodity-wise data for the next six months on fast-moving consumer goods, food and educational items, medicines, cement, and white goods. The information is to be collected from field offices and trade associations.
The first report is due by September 30, with subsequent monthly reports to be submitted to the Central Board of Indirect Taxes and Customs (CBIC) by the 20th of every month. The data must include the commodity name, brand, and maximum retail price (MRP) before and after September 22.
The food items to be tracked include condensed milk, butter, cheese, ghee, ultra-high temperature (UHT) milk, dry fruits, chocolates, biscuits and cookies, cornflakes, soya milk drinks, tomato ketchup, jams, ice cream, cakes along with drinking water bottles.
The GST rate on all these food items has been cut to 5 per cent from 12 per cent or 18 per cent, while that for UHT milk will be nil.
For packaged water, the rate has been cut to 5% from 18% for mineral and aerated water without sugar, and from 12% for 20-litre bottles of drinking water.
The field officers have also been asked to compile the price change data for other items including toilet soap bars, hair oil, shampoo, toothbrush, toothpaste, dental floss, talcum powder, face powder, shaving cream and lotion, aftershave lotion. The GST rates for all these items has been reduced to 5 per cent from 12 per cent or 18 per cent.
As per an Indian Express report, following the 56th GST Council meeting that endorsed a simplified two-slab structure of 5% and 18%, Revenue Secretary Arvind Shrivastava said only 704 cases were registered with the now-defunct National Anti-profiteering Authority (NAA) since its inception. Of these, 60% were filed in the first 3–4 years of GST, involving alleged profiteering of about ₹4,362 crore.
