GST impact on consumer goods prices: Ram Vilas Paswan has warned shopkeepers of facing legal action if revised MRP is not mentioned post Goods and Service tax (GST) roll out while saying that the consumers need to be aware of the new price of the goods. “New MRP should be mentioned on the items where prices have increased due to GST so that the Consumers can be aware of the impact of GST,” the Union minister of Food & Public Distribution, Consumer Affairs, Ram Vilas Paswan, said in a tweet. Industries under Packaged Commodities Rule, he said, has been granted relaxation till 30 September to write new MRP on items of reduced prices due to GST. “After GST came into effect, the prices of some items have gone up while the prices of others have come down,” he said in a series of tweets. Paswan said the ministry was planning to launch a helpline for complaints related to overpricing by manufacturers, wholesalers, vendors. The old MRP will have to be displayed on the unsold inventories and the new rates can be reflected by way of stickers or through online printing alongside, Consumer Affairs Secretary Avinash Srivastava told PTI.
According to a government notification, “The central government, hereby, permits the manufacturer or packer or importer of pre-packaged commodities to declare the changed retail sale price (MRP) for three months from July 1-September 30. Declaration of the changed MRP shall be made by way of stamping or putting sticker or online printing.”