Kirana Prices Will Remain Same Till August End, Post GST?:- When the new Goods and Services Tax (GST) makes its debut, you can expect general provisions at your neighborhood kirana store to cost the same on Saturday.
The consumer goods at the provision stores, will be sold at the old MRP rates, printed on the products until the existing stocks get exhausted. In the lowest tax slab of 0 to 5%, the food items and groceries have been placed, which should result in significant decrease in the price, but there will be no change in pricing at least till August-end. This is because the traders have been exempted by the government, from filing online returns for July and August, so that they have time to get ready for the new tax system.
The Supermarkets and shopping malls are, however, prepared, and as per the new GST tax rates from July 1, will charge bills. On day one of the GST launch, major retail chains have advertised “GST Muhurat Shopping”, with discounts ranging from two to 22%. Also, the Electronics showrooms have announced GST clearance sales offering up to 50% off on TVs, mobiles, laptops, air conditioners etc.
The distributor of a major FMCG company said, “Consumer goods companies are not for having two price tags of pre-GST and post-GST. They have inventories on which old MRP rates are already printed, which will last for at least three to six weeks. Moreover, they are not sure of the exact impact of GST on the raw materials they purchase. So they want to wait till mid-August to assess the exact impact and revise MRP rates and supply new stocks from September.”
Secretary of commercial taxes Somesh Kumar said, “Our initial focus will be on establishing and streamlining the GST system. The Centre too has given relaxation for traders to file online returns for two months. If we suddenly tighten the norms during the transition period, it may lead to unnecessary trouble. We will give time for traders to adapt to the GST regime. But from September, the GST norms will be tightened and any deviation will not be accepted.”
SUPRAJA
