Govt working to ensure benefits of GST rate cuts passed on to consumers

THe regime is considering reactivating an anti-profiteering chemical mechanism alongside next month’s expected GST value rationalisation to ensure businesses at once make it on the benefits of lower GDP rates to consumers, people familiar with the matter said.The move comes as the GST Council prepares to meet on September 3-4 in New Delhi to discuss the Centre’s proposal to slash tax slabs from four to two, potentially making everyday items significantly cheaper ahead of the festive season.There is a pressing need to reinstate oversight mechanisms because the proposed changes would see 99% of items currently taxed at 12% move to the 5% bracket, while 90% of goods in the 28% slab would shift to 18%—creating substantial scope for businesses to pocket savings rather than reduce prices, people familiar with the matter said.The GST law already provides legal framework for such enforcement through Section 171 of the CGST Act 2017, which allows the central government, on recommendations of the GST Council, to authorise any existing authority to examine whether tax cuts result in commensurate price reductions, the people added.“The main purpose of rate rationalisation is to provide tax relief to the common man right from this festive season,” said MS Mani, partner at Deloitte India. “It means, the impact of GST rate reduction must immediately be transmitted to the buyers of goods and services.”Mani warned that while some suppliers would immediately slash prices, others may not pass on benefits immediately or entirely, necessitating “some anti-profiteering mechanism immediately before restoring the erstwhile National Anti-Profiteering Authority (NAA) for some specific period.”The GST Council, chaired by Union finance minister Nirmala Sitharaman and comprising states’ finance ministers, will consider the rate restructuring proposal during its two-day meeting. The council’s decisions are conventionally unanimous.A Group of Ministers examining the matter has already given in-principle approval to the proposed rate rationalisation, though the GST Council remains the final authority on all GST-related matters.Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s Independence Day promise was explicit about ensuring consumer relief. “My dear countrymen, we are coming with the next generation of GST reforms, this will be a gift for you this Diwali, taxes needed by the common man will be reduced substantially, a lot of facilities will be increased,” Modi said on August 15. The lower rates if passed on would mean reduced prices, encouraging people to consume more, analysts argue , adding that the government appears to be counting on this surge in demand to offset at least some of the losses it will incur from lower merchandise exports.Officials indicated the government may not wait for formal reconstitution of the NAA to prevent profiteering. “It is not necessary to wait for reconstituting NAA to ensure that suppliers reduce rates of goods and services commensurate with GST rate reductions. The GST law has enough legal teeth to check profiteering by businesses immediately after GST rates are reduced,” one person familiar with the matter said.“As the government would like to pass on the benefits of rate cuts to the people without any delay, it may not wait for reconstitution of NAA. It will make some immediate arrangement to check profiteering,” the person added.The urgency stems from recent disruptions to anti-profiteering oversight. The National Anti-Profiteering Authority, constituted on November 28, 2017, for a period of two years, started functioning from December 1, 2017.The NAA’s tenure was first extended by two years, and later by one more year up to November 30, 2022. During its operation, the authority passed 380 orders and established profiteering worth ₹2,563 crore.After the NAA’s mandate ended, its functions were transferred to the Competition Commission of India from December 1, 2022. However, the CCI expressed its inability to handle anti-profiteering cases effectively.The 53rd GST Council meeting in June 2024 subsequently recommended that starting April 1, 2025, no new anti-profiteering applications would be accepted by CCI. The function was then shifted to the principal bench of the GST Appellate Tribunal from October 1, 2024.The proposed changes would mark the most significant consumer-focused intervention in GST implementation since the tax’s 2017 launch, with officials emphasising that Modi’s festive season promise hinges on ensuring businesses cannot exploit rate reductions for additional profits.The finance ministry and GST Council secretariat did not respond to email queries on the anti-profiteering mechanism’s potential revival.