At a joint news conference with Electronics & IT Minister Ashwini Vaishnaw and Commerce Minister Piyush Goyal, Sitharaman said that in many instances, end users have benefited from a “more-than-expected” price decrease brought about by GST changes.
Union Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman said on Saturday that the government has been monitoring 54 key goods to make sure businesses and retailers pass on tax savings to end users, emphasizing that the advantages of the GST rate drop are completely passed on to consumers.
At a joint news conference with Electronics & IT Minister Ashwini Vaishnaw and Commerce Minister Piyush Goyal, Sitharaman said that in many instances, end users have benefited from a “more-than-expected” price decrease brought about by GST changes.
The Minister shared statistics and pointed to a spike in demand in certain industries. In September, two-wheeler sales reached 21.6 lakh units, while three-wheeler deliveries increased 5.5% year over year. Due to a seasonal spike in the last nine days of the month, the passenger car market had 3.72 lakh shipments.
Sales of air conditioners quadrupled on the first day of the GST drop, while sales of a major TV maker increased by 30–35%. Consumer durables also showed considerable increases. During the Navratri season, LG India claimed exponential growth, while the FMCG industry saw increases across the board.
With effect from September 22, the Goods and Services Tax (GST) is now a two-tiered tax system with rates of 5 and 18 percent, as well as a special charge of 40 percent for ultra-luxury goods. Prior to this, luxury goods were subject to a compensating cess in addition to GST taxes at rates of 5, 12, 18, and 28 percent.
In addition to toys and umbrellas, products like shampoo, talcum powder, face powder, tables, cookware, and utensils made of iron, steel, and copper also witnessed price reductions that were more than anticipated.
According to Sitharaman, all cement businesses have lowered their costs, with the exception of one or two brands’ Portland type. Cement, which is the most expensive ingredient in construction, now only pays 18% GST instead of 28%.
Sitharaman said that 3,169 complaints about prices not being lowered in line with the GST drop had been sent to the Department of Consumer Affairs. Nodal officials at the Central Board of Indirect Taxes and Customs (CBIC) have received 3,075 of these complaints. The agency has addressed 94 complaints in total.
According to the minister, the department will activate a feature on the grievance reporting system that will be able to convey complaints to the chief commissioners of the zones from whence they originated.
In response to a query on the opposition calling the GST changes a “course correction,” Sitharaman said that the Modi administration established and carried out the GST’s plan.
“The opposition did not even dare try GST, much alone bring it. Today’s actions are a deliberate choice rather than a correction, reflecting collaboration between the GST Council and the Central government to provide more advantages to the public. They did not even try a course adjustment during the Congress period. According to the Minister, they maintained the income tax rate over 90%.