Government monitoring FMCG prices after GST reforms, e-commerce platforms also under scrutiny

The government has started tracking whether the advantage of the GST rate cut on FMCG items is translating into savings for consumers. Government sources said on Tuesday that they are getting complaints of not seeing the anticipated price cuts on certain e-commerce sites for daily needs items. Regional offices are tracking price movements.

They stated, "We are monitoring price changes. Regional offices are monitoring, and we will receive the first report from them by September 30th." They stated, "We do not want any immediate response to such complaints."

Effective September 22nd, the Goods and Services Tax (GST) has become a two-tier structure of 5 percent and 18 percent. The previous rates of 5, 12, 18, and 28 percent have been merged into two rates of 5 percent and 18 percent. This has reduced the prices of 99% of daily use items.

Although an anti-profiteering device is not yet activated in order to tackle complaints over profiteering, the government is nonetheless keeping an eye on prices. In addition, some firms have volunteered to state that they are sharing the advantages of tax cuts by lowering prices.

On September 9th, the Finance Ministry wrote to the field officers of the Central GST, asking them to submit a monthly report on the price changes of 54 commonly used items. The first report, which provides a comparative breakdown of the brand-wise maximum retail prices (MRPs) of these items, must be submitted to the Central Board of Indirect Taxes and Customs (CBIC) by September 30th. The list of 54 items includes butter, shampoo, toothpaste, tomato ketchup, jam, ice cream, AC, TV, all diagnostic kits, glucometer, bandages, thermometer, eraser, crayons and cement etc.