NAA Holds the Dealers Guilty on Dettol; Heavy Penalties Demanded

The government has given provisional reliefs like reduction in GST rates on a certain category of products but are these benefits being passed on to the customers?

National Anti-profiteering Authority (NAA) Get to know about complete guide of the anti-profiteering rules under GST in India. Also, we have attached Indian government provisional orders has recently captured a case where a dealer did not pass on the GST reduction benefit to the end customer. GST rate reduction will ultimately reduce the price of the end product given to the consumer. The authority thereon imposed a penalty on the dealer for not reducing the price of the product according to the reduced GST rates.

The petition was filed before the Standing committee on Anti-Profiteering stating that the respondent, the Reckitt Benckiser India Pvt.Ltd. is profiting from the supply of ‘Dettol HW Liquid Original 900 ml’ and has also accused the respondent of not changing the rates of the product according to the reduced GST rates (earlier 28% to 18% now). On the contrary, the respondent has increased the price of the end product looking at its elevating demand.

Here the respondent defended their case by saying that there is no statement under section 171 which stated that the benefit of reduced rates shall be passed on to the end consumers by ‘commensurate reduction’ (via cash only) and other methods like increasing the quantity of the commodity or including them under buy one get one offers, etc. NAA has concluded that the GST benefit Here, we have listed several major benefits of GST (Goods and Services Tax) in upcoming months that every Indian should know. Read more shall be passed on to the end consumer only by the way of reduction in Goods and Service Tax rates.

NAA Verdict, “As mentioned under Rule 136 of Central Goods and Service Tax Rule 2017, the CGST and SGST commissioners are responsible to supervise the order under the supervision of the DGAP and make sure that the amount profiteered by the respondent shall duly be deposited in the Consumer Welfare Funds (CWF) of the Central and State Governments. A compliance report shall be made and the same shall be submitted to the NAA by the Commissioner in charge within 4 months starting from the date of receiving the orders”.