GST Council Not Willing to Extend Sale of Pre-GST Stock

In a statement made on the occasion of the World Consumer Rights Day, Minister of Consumer Affairs, Food and Public Distribution Ram Vilas Paswan said that the government is not going to extend the date for selling pre-GST stock with revised MRP after this month.

After the launch of the Goods and Services Tax (GST) system in India, the government had allowed businesses to sell their existing stocks by displaying the revised MRP (after GST) alongside the old MRP on their products through stamps, sticker or printing. However, that facility was for a limited time period, which will not continue after this month.

“Retailers will display only one MRP after 31st March. We are not in favour of providing an extension of the deadline for MRP stickering,” said Paswan.

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The revised MRP mechanism was only applicable to manufacturers, packers and imports of the actual goods and not for the sellers, confirmed the department.

Businesses have been reportedly sending requests to the department of consumer affairs asking to extend the deadline for selling of pre-GST stocks. The original deadline was September 30th, which was extended to December 31st last year, and then again to 31st March 2018. It is not expected to go beyond this.

The Minister said that enough time has already been given to the industry to comply with post-GST regulations. “If retailers do not comply with the mandate, we will see what punishment suits them,” Paswan said in his statement.

In case if businesses decide to increase the price of any of their products, the same has to be conveyed with the department of consumer affairs, as well as to the consumers by the mean of advertisement.

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